New Plymouth Community Foodbank manager Sharon Wills says the service is seeing increasing numbers of people who are working and have mortgages. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
Out in the countryside farmers are enjoying a bumper payout for dairy and record beef prices, but many people in urban areas are on the wrong side of the two-speed economy and doing it tough.
Locals in Taranaki say the cost of food, housing, power just keeps rising - and demands on foodbanks is on the up.
Taranaki Whanganui reporter Robin Martin headed to town for the second in his two-part look at the economic split between town and country, as part of RNZ's Pinch Point series on the cost of living.
It's just after nine in the morning at the New Plymouth Community Food Bank and the first clients are beginning to roll up.
Joshua is 22, out of work and desperate.
"I've moved out of home and really can't afford to eat most weeks just because of the cost of living. My power bill is through the roof, the rent's expensive.
"I try to avoid coming here out of all costs but if I have to I do every three weeks or so. I don't like to come here, I'm really a bit ashamed."
Photo: RNZ
Peggy Wetzel was between jobs and lived in a motel unit.
She felt little better.
"The rent is $400 a week, you get paid $500 a week, and so that leaves you $100 to eat, get around, go to appointments and apparently to have a social life.
"I hate having to come and beg ... because that's what it feels like."
Peggy Wetzel says after paying rent for the motel unit where she lives, she has $100 left for food and the other necessities of life. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
New Plymouth food bank manager Sharon Wills saw little evidence of better times ahead.
"It's just the compounding cost of the power bills, the rent and the stupid food prices, it just doesn't stop.
"It's just steadily increasing the amount of people that are coming. If anything it's probably more people who are working, people with mortgages just coming and saying 'look everything is just so expensive' and the power bills particularly at this time of year, it's just crazy."
Wills said the cupboards were pretty bare and the foodbank was having to buy in supplies.
Solo mum Rachel was picking up a parcel at the Waitara foodbank.
"I'm just needing a [bit] more support. I mean the price of food is pretty high and I'm living not even week-to-week with me and my son at home.
"The struggle, yeah, is real and what they provide us when we sometimes come down here is amazing. I'm so blessed.
"I'm trying to look for a job, but it's kind of hard just with the qualifications I do have ... not many."
Waitara Foodbank operations manager Amy Olsen says up to 25 percent of the people coming in for parcels have never used the service previously. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
At Waitara foodbank parcels came with recipes and vegetable seedlings to help clients help themselves.
Operations manager Amy Olsen said it supplied 140 parcels a week, but there was demand for double that.
"We are seeing a lot of new people every week. I would say probably 20 to 25 percent of people coming in are new and never been to foodbank before. We've also noticed an increase in frequency in how often people need food which is really hard because we can't sustain weekly parcels."
In Stratford, out-of-work farmworker Joe Thompson was also struggling.
"I'm on the benefit. It's pretty hard to find work in Stratford. I'm going to foodbanks and getting help from friends and family."
The 26-year-old never expected to be in this position.
"Nah, it's pretty rats... asking family to help with food and stuff."
Hawera Budget Advisory Service coordinator Julia Gaudin was about to retire after 18 years on the job.
She said the service had never been busier.
"Last year we saw over 1100 people and so it's going up because when I started a busy year was 125 people. I was the only one here, so now we've got two full-timers, two part-timers and volunteers doing this job and we're busy."
Hāwera Budget Advisory Service coordinator Julia Gaudin is retiring after 18 years in the job - she says it's never been busier. Photo: RNZ / Robin Martin
On high streets around the province the message was universal.
Peter reflected what many people were saying.
"Power increases that's what's really hitting everybody. The supply charge has gone up and you're not even plugged into your heater and you have to pay perhaps $40 for electricity and $40 for gas per month without even using them, so they're the biggest killers."
Murray reckoned things were pretty rough.
"Every couple of months you get a new email from a power company or broadband supplier or something saying the price is going up."
Young homeowner Courtney was feeling the pinch.
"It's expensive, very expensive. The rates in Stratford are pretty crazy, food's expensive, gas is getting expensive."
Lisa was struggling with the basics.
"In the supermarkets I find prices have gone up quite a bit, you know, not just a few cents but dollars, you know, and power that's been a big jump."
Jo hoped prices would start to go down but wasn't hopeful.
"Everything's expensive. All I'm seeing at the moment is everything going up."
Aileen worked for herself.
"Tough, really, really tough. I've got a small business here and it's really, really tight at the moment. Food seems to keep going up and up and up each week every time you go and do the shopping it's worse than it was last week."
Carlos had given up on setting up a home of his own.
"I'm just trying to stay at home for as long as possible before I'm either renting or buying a house. It's just way too expensive buying a house or renting and all that stuff."
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