The golden arches were first sighted in Porirua in 1976. Just 20 years later, there were 100 McDonald's restaurants in the country. Nowadays, fast food restaurants are an omnipresent feature of the landscape of urban New Zealand.

Kiwis flocked to the cities in the latter half of the 20th century, and as we moved, so too did the source of our lunch and dinner.

New Zealand has the third-highest adult obesity rate in the OECD, and rates continue to increase - yet in many of New Zealand's most socially disadvantaged suburbs, fast food and other unhealthy options are often the only pick on the menu.

Children living in deprived neighbourhoods are almost three times as likely to be obese compared to those living in more affluent areas, according to the New Zealand Health Survey.

The Government has taken a broad approach, focusing on messages of nutrition and increased physical activity.

But researchers from Auckland University of Technology say the answer lies in building food havens - places with food that is culturally accessible, affordable and desirable, found on a family, community or local business level.

"... Healthy eating campaigns that ignore the cultural meaning of food may miss their target audience, and there should be more focus on promoting healthy food that people in communities over-represented in obesity feel connected to."

The need for food havens first occurred to public health researcher Dr Radilaite Cammock when she was trying to find groceries for her kids in her South Auckland neighbourhood.

"The idea came to mind when trying to find a healthy market to give my kids' food," she said. "I couldn't find anywhere good close to where I live."

Cammock says change needs to come from empowering communities rather than expecting the big corporations to do a sudden U-turn on providing healthy food.

"If you look to the big food organisations to change, you miss some great stuff that can change in the community," she said. "We've spoken to young entrepreneurs who are trying to sell healthy food with a cultural connection."

In South Auckland, enterprises like Papatoetoe Food Hub and Otara Kai Village have been providing healthy and affordable kai with a focus on culture and community.

Developed by the Southern Initiative, Papatoetoe Food Hub wants to build supply and demand for good food in South Auckland.

Since July 2019, they've repurposed around 300kg of unused produce a week - some from Papatuanuku Marae and Pukekohe farmers - but mainly from the New World across the road.

Bin says they may be the only business in New Zealand based on rescuing food.

"It's a whole cycle. Our food waste goes into compost, which we then use in planter boxes where we grow our own food. We've been composting about 100kg a week."

They hope to be part of shifting South Auckland's dependency on fast food. Continue reading

• Image: Newsroom

These plans were announced in a press statement last year by Catholic Education Office chief executive Paul Ferris.

He said the Church had bought 25ha in Burtt Rd, Drury, South Auckland three years ago for a new 1,000-student, $40m co-educational high school.

Ferris explained the plans couldn't progress without Ministry approval.

Approval is required because the state pays up to 85 per cent of the cost of new integrated schools.

Ferris also pointed out in his press statement in July 2018 that " 1,000 kids [were] travelling from the Pukekohe area to Catholic schools in the city every day,".

Nothing further was said until last week. However, on Friday, the NZ Catholic reported that the Minister of Education had approved the Auckland diocese's application to begin integration negotiations for a proposed new Catholic year 7-13 secondary school in Drury.

According to NZ Catholic, the Ministry of Education is to begin a consultation process with relevant schools and institutions, alongside the negotiation process.

Auckland diocese vicar for education Linda McQuade has now sent a letter to south Auckland Catholic primary principals and boards of trustees chairs.

In it, she wrote that the diocese was delighted to have received the correspondence from the Minister.

"It has been over 20 years since the establishment of a Catholic secondary school at Drury was first seen as an important addition to the network of Catholic secondary schools within Auckland diocese," she wrote.

McQuade also noted that, at present, transport costs could be a barrier for access to Catholic secondary schools for families in South Auckland.

A new Catholic secondary school in the Drury area would, if approved, reduce the number of students leaving south Auckland to access Catholic education.

It would also reduce the non-productive time for students travelling to and from school, she wrote.

At present inn the Auckland Diocese, there are 24,000 young people enrolled in 43 primary schools and 15 secondary colleges.

Source

• NZCatholic
• nzherald.co.nz
• educationcentral.co.nz
• aucklandcatholic.org.nz
• Image: thecollegian.co.nz

From late 2018, the Rapid Relief Team (RRT) has provided Papakura police with emergency food boxes that contain enough food for a family of four to live on for 24 hours. Read more

He was supporting a team of businesses and volunteers.

They wanted children of low-income families to know the excitement of receiving presents at Christmas.

Tua's appearance happened at Otara's St John the Evangelist Catholic School.

He was taking part in a present drop in all Otara schools over five days.

The Child Abuse Prevention Foundation set up the Christmas present drop.

It hoped to raise enough money to pay for 10 thousand presents.

Each present consists of educational books and outdoor activities.

It gave them to babies and children up to the age of 13 years.

One of the organisers, Puti Taufa, says she knows there are families in Otara that need the help.

"Some of our kids don't get presents and so this is our way of giving back," she says.

Tua took part as his wife helped organise the present drop.

Community groups and social services combined for the distribution.

Many businesses donated money to pay for the presents.

In addition, many donated staff time.

Fundraising continues to pay for the presents, which each cost about $10.

Tua says his family didn't have much when he was a kid.

"But you have to be creative and make your own little fun," he says.

Auckland Mayor, Phil Goff, also attended a drop.

Goff says poverty prevents people reaching their potential.

"You can't [achieve] if you're living in cold or damp or you don't get the same opportunities in life."

Future Present Drops

While this events winds down, there is talk now of expanding the project to other Auckland suburbs.

In that case, community leaders in each would be responsible in their own suburb.

The Child Abuse Prevention Foundation set up a Give A Little page to help pay for the presents.

Source:

• Radio NZ
• Maori Television
• Stuff
• YouTube

They say the Lord provides, but for the lost souls of South Auckland's Clendon, His name is Mark Beale.

It's been this way for nearly 30 years, since Beale was sent to plant a church and vicarage in place of the cowshed and the weeds in a muddy paddock on the brow of a hill in Finlayson Ave.

He held the first service there in August 1988 for a congregation of nine. Five of them - his wife Barbara and their four children - had the surname Beale. Up to 250 turn up each Sunday these days.

But a new vicar, Glenn Paddison, is taking over at St Elizabeth's Anglican Church, ministering to one of the country's poorest parishes. About 40% of the 10,000-odd people who live here are on a benefit; around a third of those are on the dole.

A quarter of the households are solo parent families, and on the New Zealand Deprivation Index, which measures socio-economic status, Clendon scores a 10 - the maximum. Handing out food parcels is one of the church's biggest tasks.

At 65, Beale says it's time someone younger took over this flock. He hasn't stopped caring and his passion is undimmed, but you get the feeling he's beyond tired.

"I don't lose hope, but you can become worn out to the point where you know you have to quit."

Later, he qualifies that, saying he doesn't feel burnt out, just that he doesn't have the capacity he once did to do the job.

He reckons he's seen it all during his time here. They've had a tinny house next door and one across the road.

He's had his car bricked and egged after turning down a family who wanted a food parcel - they'd been selling them on - and stepped in to protect a child from assault. He's spoken up for South Auckland during a spate of five murders in 2008, one of them a few hundred metres from the church. Continue reading

Source and Image:

• New Zealand Listener, the beginning of an article by Donna Chisholm, a New Zealand journalist.

Health Science Academies, supported by the Counties Manukau DHB, have been operating for several years at some other south Auckland secondary schools.

The goal is to develop a workforce that reflects the diverse south Auckland community.

Continue reading

He says it seems a National Party advocate has taken advantage of the community's deprivation.

"Congregation members are being approached by a person claiming to represent National who is convincing them to sign forms they don't fully comprehend.

"They are then being sent letters addressed to them personally saying they are now members of National and must now vote for them"

Sio said he has been urged by a junior pastor of the church involved - who wishes to remain anonymous - to warn Pasifika people about this.

Sio's allegation is disputed by Minister of Pacific Island Affairs, Peseta Sam Lotu-Iiga, who says Labour has to produce one of these letters to back up its claim. he said that the National Party did not send out letters inviting people to join the party.

Source

• Scoop
• NewstalkZB
• Radio Australia
• Image: thedailyblog

A project has been started by several men, some of whom are former Young Vinnies, to help give south Auckland children access to computers who otherwise wouldn't have this.

The men are attached to the St Therese Conference of the Society of St Vincent de Paul at Mangere.

Described as working in the IT industry, or being conversant with its mysteries, they clean and overhaul computers that have been donated.

Four schools were approached initially and the team has so far installed or are in the process of installing more than 70 computers in homes and community houses.

The project builds on a scheme started by the SVDP Hornby conference in Christchurch.

An article on the SVDP website explained that the scheme has been enthusiastically taken up in south Auckland.

There have been unexpected benefits, including teachers being able to give extra work to students who needed to catch up on fellow students or understand lessons.

Consideration is being given to extending the scheme to others who might care for students, including caregivers, grandparents, church and community groups.

Other deserving candidates who might benefit from having a computer at home are also being considered.

The New Zealand Deprivation Index released earlier this year showed south Auckland to be among the most deprived areas in the country.

Produced by Otago University researchers, the index included "internet access" among its calculations for the first time, reflecting modern technology's growing influence on everyday life.

The index is based on 2013 census data.

Sources

• Society of St Vincent de Paul (NZ)
• New Zealand Herald
• Image: Pacific Scoop

The meeting, with Pacific church leaders at the Samoan Independent Seventh Day Adventist Church in Mangere, was also a platform to promote National's candidate for Mangere, Misa Fia Turner.

Key says there had been a shift in support in the Labour stronghold of South Auckland.

"I can't think of a time when I've been the leader of the National Party when we would have had so many people in Mangere turn up for a National Party meeting."

"I think it just sends a very strong message that there are changes afoot in voting patterns for Pacific New Zealanders." Key said.

Key concedes National is still the Pacific underdog, but believes come September they will secure more votes from south Auckland than ever before

Gay marriage is considered to be one of the main reasons for the change.

"The values, that's important to us because that's really against our moral values ," says Misa-Fia Turner.

National's Pacific Island Affairs Minister and Maungakiekie MP Sam Lotu-Iiga admitted that unseating incumbent Mangere MP, Labour's Su'a William Sio, would be a tough ask.

I wouldn't get overly optimistic about it," Lotu-Iiga said.

Labour leader David Cunliffe insists he is still living the Pacific dream.

"We have had a wonderful day here in Manurewa," he says.

He says the turnout at his meeting in south Auckland last night proves that.
"It's great. We are having an amazing turn out, record numbers."

Source

• The New Zealand Herald
• 3News
• Image: 3News

After an Easter Sunday service in Mangere, Cunliffe addressed more than 3000 people at the Samoan Assembly of God National Easter Conference.

Labour is making a concerted effort to target voters in electorates including Mangere, Manurewa and Manukau East ahead of September's general election. Continue reading

The Catholic Church is extending its social services arm across the region.

Bishop Pat Dunn has blessed and opened the new southern base of Catholic Social Services at St John the Evangelist Church in Otara.

Previously the service had just one office in Ponsonby and its South Auckland patrons were forced to travel across the city.

Auckland's Catholic Social Services was founded in the 1930s to support families under pressure during the difficult times resulting from the Great Depression. Continue reading