Kai for Octacan - the spirit of winter giving

Bring along your coins and cans to help us fill the foodbank with kai this winter!

Thursday 1 July 7.00am – 2.30pm
Lower Octagon, Dunedin

For more information and to donate online www.octacan.org.nz

Octacan is our major Winter food drive – where we invite you to help us re-stock our Family Works Foodbank by donating cans and non-perishable food. Ours is Dunedin’s busiest food bank and supports many local people through the winter months.

Over the last 12 years Octacan has grown and grown due to your generous support and is now a key event in the City’s calendar. Traditionally, Octacan is held on the shortest day in mid-winter, as a reminder of the real need that exists in the community during the colder months.

This year we are holding Octacan on a date that is aligned with Matariki – the Māori New Year, to highlight the importance of sharing kai and gathering together as a community.

Māori astronomer and University of Waikato professor Dr Rangi Mātāmu says, “In the past, all life revolved around gathering kai and securing food and water sources for survival. People worked hard during the harvest to fill their stores, then in the cold months around the new year, they would gather to keep warm, share kai and entertain each other”.

This year we will be arranging donated cans into the star shapes of the Matariki constellation. Matariki will rise in the Otago skies the following morning, marking the beginning of the Māori New Year.

Getting involved is easy! Please bring your cans or gold coins to the Lower Octagon during Octacan. You can even start gathering now by setting up a collection point and then dropping your donations off on the day.

Thank you!

For more information and to donate online www.octacan.org.nz