Darfield team’s helping hand and whole lot of heart
In times of hardship, communities come together – and that’s exactly what recently happened as Fonterra's Darfield and Canterbury sites, along with the Upper South Island (USI) Hapori team, stepped up to support the Hoon Hay Food Bank in Christchurch.
On 27 May, the food bank suffered a devastating theft, with all its chilled and frozen food stolen, leaving hundreds of families in need without essential supplies.
The stolen stock represented around four to five months’ worth of food, a heartbreaking loss for an organisation dedicated to helping families put food on the table.
With 145 families depending on the food bank’s support that week alone, our team at Darfield stepped into action donating:
- 300kg of frozen vegetables
- 42kg of Mainland Edam Cheese Blocks
- 60kg of Anchor Salted Butter Blocks
To further support the food bank, the team topped up the donation with additional Anchor products, including Blue Top UHT Milk and the ever-popular Primo Flavoured Milk.
A legacy of giving back
Giving back is part of what the Darfield team does, and time and again, they step up to help those in need.
Just last month, they joined forces with the Canterbury & USI Hapori team and Motueka High School to restock the Motueka Food Network.
Motueka High School students rallied together to collect as many cans of tinned food as possible, and the team matched their total, resulting in an incredible donation of over 1,700 cans to the food bank.
The team also partnered with Darfield High School setting a friendly challenge to collect canned food for the Darfield Food Bank. The students rallied together, knowing that for every can they collected, the Darfield team would match their efforts with an equal donation.
At the end of the challenge a total of 2,039 tins of canned food were donated to the food bank ensuring families in need continue to receive the vital support they deserve.
Recognising Darfield’s impact
The Darfield team’s unwavering commitment to giving back was recently recognised at the Te Mātāpuna Awards – celebrating excellence within the Co-op, recognising individuals and teams who embody Fonterra’s values and contribute to its success – where they proudly took home the Reputation Award, an honour well-earned, with the Darfield Hapori group having delivered over 630 food parcels to elderly members of their community (alongside all the amazing other good deeds they do throughout the year).
After speaking with the local council about the challenges faced by elderly people living alone, the team took the initiative to provide additional support alongside food parcels, including fence repairs and garden maintenance, showing their commitment to helping those in need goes beyond food – it’s about creating a sense of security, care, and connection for the most vulnerable members of their community.
From left to right: Kieran Ainsley, Tim Toulson, Ronel Beukes, Robb Stevens, Mike Cronin and Jason Boyce