‘Life doesn’t stop’: Christchurch City Mission braces for new year

Friday, 1 December 2023

Christchurch city missioner Corinne Haines says the mission is preparing for a hard start to the year.

As businesses wind down for the holidays and people close their office doors to spend time with family, Christchurch City Mission’s doors stay wide open.

“It's just us,” said Christchurch city missioner Corinne Haines. “We don’t ever say we can shut the door.”

Haines has seen first-hand how challenging day-to-day living can become for some families in Canterbury, and is already bracing herself for increased need in the new year.

While the mission is preparing provide 1800 food parcels in the week before Christmas Day compared to their usual 300, it isn’t the festive period she is worried about, but rather the month that follows.

“January is one of our biggest months,” said Haines.

Haines said the mission are now having to buy food to give away, something they have never had to do before.

“Life is not excitement and baubles and Christmas and fun. Christmas is only one day. Life doesn’t stop.”

Christchurch City Mission gave away $2.9 million worth of food in 2022, with 10,000 people coming to the mission 70,000 times. Haines said this year the need has increased.

“Don’t get me wrong, we get a huge amount of food donated, but we are buying food now which we have never had to do in years gone by.”

The mission has been forced to restrict the number of parcels each person gets to five a year. “We can’t do any more than that.”

She said next year they may have to reduce the amount of food they include in parcels if things don’t improve.

Christmas has always been a tough time of year for food banks and support services across the motu, with demand being high and donations being low. However, it is the “forgotten” month of January that Christchurch City Mission is gearing up for.

Haines said the pressures of Christmas get to families, which leaves them drowning come Boxing Day.

Jennifer Rossie in June this year doing grocery shopping for a friend at the Christchurch City Mission foodbank.

“There is a lot of advertising and a lot of expectations about what parents and people should do at Christmas time,” she said.

“A lot of parents try to give their children a good Christmas because they want to be seen as a functioning family… so they do go all out.”

Added stresses of childcare, feeding children and casual work drying up also contribute to struggling summer months.

In its 94th year, Christchurch City Mission is continuing to grow, but it is growth driven by need, said Haines.

“We would rather get smaller than bigger, but every year we do get bigger because the need is there.

“My dream would be that people on an income could afford their own house, their own food and be able to be self-sufficient… it is a dream because I don’t think that will happen.”

In an effort to help the mission in the New Year, The Press, is encouraging readers to take part in its campaign to start a reverse advent calendar, the idea being to give rather than receive.

People are encouraged to grab a box, grab a calendar and pop a donation in their box on every day in December, with the filled-up donation boxes then going to the City Mission in time for January.

Haines said the impact the initiative could have for struggling families is immense. “We use all of this food that we have for Christmas, [but] that first day of January people are still coming to us with food issues.

“I think getting this bundle of food at the beginning of January would definitely help us support those people.”

Reverse advent boxes can be taken to the mission's reception every weekday from 8.30am to 5pm. (It is not open weekends or public holidays.) Make sure to snap a photo of you and your box and send it to reporters@press.co.nz - we hope to publish a page of our generous readers.