Free Store creator Kim Paton always expected large crowds would show up to her free grocery store but the Karekare resident admits to being somewhat taken aback by just how high the demand was last week.
"I am overwhelmed by how many people we have been getting through," she says.
"We have been closing when we run out and it levels out between 11am and 2pm depending on our stock that day."
Free Store is a volunteer-run grocery store which gives away food products while exhibiting work from local artists.
Miss Paton started the Free Store idea in Wellington but the west Auckland version has seen so many customers that the store has had to limit how many are allowed in at a time.
"I cannot say enough about every person we have seen coming in. They are really struggling.
" We have to moderate the flow so we can share it around."
She has been grateful to the local businesses and companies that have donated their leftover food items to Free Store.
"I don't have the exact numbers on our stock but it is heaps," she says.
"Every day we are looking at 200 to 600 loaves of bread, thousands of dry goods, and between 500 kilos and a tonne of local produce everyday."
Miss Paton acknowledges that Free Store will not fight poverty in New Zealand, but is bemused by criticisms of the project.
"I guess the one astonishing thing is the feedback from media reports about Free Store and a lot of it is a groundswell against people on benefits," she says.
"It is a sad indictment on what people are thinking about their communities because every minute I spend at the Free Store is a minute where you feel overwhelmed with the desperation and struggles in the community. And what those criticising forget is all this food would just end up in landfills."
The store is a 30-day trial that will end in March but there is talk of creating another Free Store or extending the current project.
"We are looking at the long-term potential of the project and while nothing can be guaranteed at this stage I know Auckland Council is looking at what will happen next."
Article Source: www.westernleader.co.nz
Article By: Western Leader
