22 Apr 2020

Coronavirus: Foodbanks hit by 'Christmas on steroids'

From Morning Report, 7:09 am on 22 April 2020

After four weeks in lockdown, food banks around the country are seeing a dramatic rise in the number of people needing help to put food on their tables.

Demand for food parcels has jumped nine-fold in some areas and the Auckland City Mission estimates one in five New Zealanders can't get the food they need.

The number of food grants made by the Ministry of Social Development has skyrocketed under Alert Level 4 - hitting close to 70,000 in just a week.

As RNZ social issues reporter Sarah Robson explains, no one is expecting that demand to let up any time soon.