Foodstuffs and Woolworths NZ hold a duopoly over the sector. The draft report proposes a range of measures to improve competition at the retail and wholesale level, including last-resort options such as a Government backed grocery retailer and requiring supermarkets to sell shops. Dr Anna Casey-Cox, a researcher with Poverty Action Waikato, said the cost of groceries is a major stress for many Waikato households.
STUFF
The Commerce Commission is looking into how competitive New Zealand s grocery retailers are. Basic staples, such of fruit and vegetables, are now priced out of the reach of some. “When food banks were first set up, they were initially seen as a temporary solution. There was an understanding that they weren’t going to be a lasting thing because eventually we’d get it sorted,” Casey-Cox said.
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Through the window, the volunteers see a man with a long white beard and a ripped denim work shirt moving toward the building. He is agitated, shuffling his feet, furrowing his brow, keeping his head down, but his eyes up. He comes most days, desperate for someone to listen as he copes with mental illness. The phone rings just as the man in the denim shirt opens the door. The woman who answers the phone immediately stiffens. “Hold on, sir,” she says into the receiver. “I’m worried about him. He’s in trouble.” She runs to ask the manager, Vicky Haden-Jones, for help.
The council’s funding for the organisation was vital, she said. It received no funding from central government, and other funding from philanthropic organisations such as the Gallagher Family Foundation, the Len Reynolds Trust and the DB Bryant Trust had either been recently terminated or was otherwise not guaranteed. The reduction meant the organisation would likely have to shut up shop within two years, she said. It was an unpalatable situation to be facing in the year of the organisation’s fiftieth anniversary. “It’s been like a kick in the guts,” Yorston told the community committee on Thursday.
HAMILTON CITY COUNCIL