A West Auckland food bank has been forced to limit the number of parcels it gives to desperate families amid a funding crunch.
Mum of two Sharie Sheffield is among one of around 8000 families who relies on The Village Community Trust's free supplies to feed her whānau.
"I was stressing out a lot yesterday until I sat down with the phone like 'OK, let me fill this is in', and they approved me and I was like, 'OK, life's easier now — we're good'," she said.
If it wasn't for the charity's help, Sheffield said the family would be left with just one roll of toilet paper for the weekend.
"I would've started looking at going to a restaurant and taking a roll of toilet paper from them. You know, you do what you can," Sheffield said.
The Village Trust's Lady Maliena Jones told 1News it provides 200 parcels per week.
"We could be giving out twice that amount, because that's how great the need is," she said.
The food bank is funded entirely by donations. One-off government boosts during the pandemic and last year's floods have now dried up.
But the funding woes hasn't stopped agencies like Work and Income from pointing desperate families their way.
"I think there's an assumption when they say, 'WINZ referred me' that they have to be served, and we do, but we have to also have them understand that we are not funded by WINZ to do this," Jones said.
"I think maybe there's a misconception that the community has all these resources but we don't."
The Ministry of Social Development told 1News while it sometimes suggests people use food banks if they are unable to provide assistance, it will contact the trust to better understand their challenges.
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