Lots of people know about Octacan! It’s our major winter food drive, held in Dunedin’s Octagon and the food we collect there helps refill our foodbank so we can support hundreds of local people through the colder months. This year Octacan is on 23 June, in the week of Matariki.
We are very grateful for donations of cans of food and other non-perishable items.
This winter, more than ever, people are in need of some extra support. The cost of food and other essentials has soared, and we are seeing more and more families reach out to our foodbank.
Our team understands everyone has a unique story, and they provide wrap-around help tailored to each individual or family – by providing food parcels, and if needed, social work support, financial mentoring, support to find emergency housing, and winter clothing.
If you would like to donate to our foodbank, you can drop goods off to the Octagon on 23 June between 7.30am and 2pm or donate online www.octacan.org.nz.
Matariki is the Māori New Year and is the time of year harvest would traditionally take place. Kai for Octacan is our ‘harvest’, when we gather and secure food for those in our community who are grappling with the impact of hardship, and find they need the support of our Family Works Foodbank.
Articles from our Winter People Magazine 2022
