Kia ora and welcome to Whare Āio

Social Supermarket for the Whakatane District.

Whare Aio – Social Supermarket is a collaborative between Waiariki Whanau Mentoring (WWM) and Foodstuffs North Island (New World, Pak n Save, Four Square) to help individuals and or whanau who are hardworking and continue to struggle with the everyday living due to the cost-of-living crisis our nation currently finds itself in. This initiative has also been sponsored and supported by various local and regional businesses and is not government funded.

What is a Social Supermarket?

Social Supermarkets aim to create a dignified experience for whanau experiencing food security challenges, by offering food and grocery products at a low cost, using a points system, in a standard supermarket environment.

• Single Adult receives 45 points
• Small Family (2-3 people) receives 60 points
• Medium Family (4-5 people) receives 70 points
• Large Family (6+) receives 80 points

Each point is relative to the retail price in Supermarket such as PAK’nSAVE or New World to help shoppers keep the same budgeting mindset when shopping in either situation.

Who is the Social Supermarket for?

For many families throughout New Zealand, putting enough food on the table each day is a struggle. For some, there is often a tough choice that needs to be made – buy food or pay an essential bill. By supporting families with food using this model, we can remove the need to make that choice by freeing up money for other essentials.

Whare Āio is there to support low to middle income working individuals and or whanau in the Whakatāne region that are employed but can’t make ends meet to provide food on the table for themselves or their family.

What is the process to access the Social Supermarket?

Fill in the contact form below to get the process started. Our Social Supermarket team will give you a call to assess your eligibility. There are a few requirements to meet such as having a form of photo ID, your last 2 pay slips (this includes partners payslips also).