Foodstuffs South Island Community Trust has enabled View Hill School to start its school pantry programme.
View Hill School in North Canterbury has received a big boost to its Pātaka Kai, or school pantry programme, thanks to the Foodstuffs South Island Community Trust.
The NZD $3,000 grant will provide View Hill School with the resources they need to build its school pantry initiative. This includes funding for gardening materials and the creation of an outdoor pantry for easy access to fresh produce.
The school pantry will serve both the school, and the wider community maintained by regular in-school gardening by the students as well as a ‘Garden to Table’ programme. View Hill School parent and fundraising representatives said it will provide a helping hand to families in the community who may need it.
“The grant allows us to buy a tunnel house giving us additional space for our students to grow more vegetables as well as the ability to grow year-round,” a representative said.
“The programme is run by one of our fantastic teachers and gives the students an opportunity to spend time outside and learn about things like cooking and sustainability through hands-on experiences.”
Playing a key role in securing this grant for View Hill School was PAK’nSAVE Rangiora, a locally owned and operated store under the Foodstuffs South Island co-operative.
James Flanagan, owner-operator of PAK’nSAVE Rangiora, said the Community Trust is something close to his heart.
“Catherine and I have been donating to the Community Trust since we purchased our first supermarket 12 years ago,” said Flanagan.
“It’s just the right thing to do in terms of engaging with the wider co-op and getting support to those in the community that need it.”
Parent representatives said that they are very appreciative to James and the Community Trust for the grant.
"Being a small, rural school, these grants make a huge difference. Without them, we wouldn't be able to offer cool programmes, like the school pantry, to our students.”
The Foodstuffs South Island Community Trust was created to support the South Island and creating successful communities.
It prioritises projects and organisations that are aligned with its social promises of enabling people access to healthy food, supporting the South Island community to thrive as well as contributing to individuals achieving meaningful work.
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