Ā mātou mahi | What we do
Kai Aroha is a voluntary non-profit organisation providing a free community meal to those experiencing food hardship.
Te moemoeā o Kai Aroha| Our Vision
* To see the poor and vulnerable in our community moving toward freedom, dignity and hope.
Te whāinga o Kai Aroha | Our Mission, our Aim
* To feed our hungry community by nourishing the body, heart and soul with compassion, kindness and equity.
* To be a voice for the vulnerable.
You do not have to be homeless to be hungry.
Every Monday night at Pāpāmoa St Paul's Church, Kai Aroha provides a free community dinner meal, for those who are struggling to feed themselves and their loved ones. We have noticed that throughout our years of functioning as Kai Aroha that there has been a huge shift in the types of food impoverished people that attend our community meal.
With the rise of inflation, food has become more scarce to many. We are not only feeding just the homeless, we are also feeding the elderly, pensioners, whānau in emergency accomodation or transitional housing, people who pay rent, struggle to pay utility bills but do not have enough money to buy groceries to last to the next pay week. Many parents will skip whole day meals just so their tamariki can eat daily. This should not be happening but it is right across Aotearoa.
You do not have to be homeless to be hungry. Many of our community have very little kai and we have learnt that many whānau may not have eaten for days. In many cases, the food that they are eating are not nutritional and are not filling. For kai sustainability, many whānau rely on local community meals throughout the week, including Kai Aroha.
In Aotearoa, there is often a misconception that people choose the lifestyle of being homeless. There are many different situations and reasons in which people find themselves ‘homeless’. People who sleep on the streets, in shop doorways, in city parks, any form of shelter are going through a period of homelessness. This does define who they are or their current situation.
Most people would prefer their own place to live in. Having a warm, dry home is a basic human right – it’s something that we all deserve.
Kai Aroha values
Founded on Māori tikanga values and Christian principles.
MANAAKITANGA
Hospitality
We make people feel welcomed with kindness and care.
To love our neighbor, our community are our neighbors, we look out for each other. Mark 12:31
WHANAUNGATANGA
Connections and Relationships
We promote healthy relationships and positive connections.
Sowing bountifully into others and our community and we will reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6
ATAWHAITANGA
Compassion and Kindness
We treat others the way we want to be treated.
Treat others in a way that you would like to be treated. Luke 6:31
NGĀKAU AROHA
Empathy and Love
We go the extra mile to embrace, understand and act in love.
Being the good Samaritan that we can be encouraged to love all people including those who are not so kind to us and those who take advantage of us. Luke 10
"If we sit around doing nothing, we will never make a stand for something! There will be no change, there will be no effect"
- Tania Lewis-Rickard, Kai Aroha Founding Leader and Director