Imagine preparing up to 300 breakfasts each day! That’s what our dedicated chef, Debbie Tugaga, and her team do.

At 4:30am, when most of us are still sleeping, Debbie is in the kitchen prepping food to serve to guests at Haeata, our beautiful community dining room.

Doors open at 8am and by the time they close at 11am, diners will have eaten a hearty brunch – for most, the only meal they’ll eat that day.

Debbie is a highly experienced chef who has been involved with Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai for 14 years. Previously she worked for high-end restaurants, first joining the Mission as a volunteer at the annual Christmas dinner.

“We’ve got a really great team here in the kitchen, we all help each other out and it can be fun. I love working with our volunteers, too; we have up to seven volunteers a day in the kitchen and there is something very touching about having a steady stream of Aucklanders showing up to help out.

“Today’s hot meal is glazed ham, roast potatoes and beetroot, with slaw donated by a catering company.”

Debbie plans the meals according to what has been donated as well as what has been purchased. Every day is different.

This is in addition to the cereals, porridge and fruit always on offer, and a dessert of bread-and-butter pudding.

“We don’t waste anything. We steam slightly stale bread to refresh it and make it into garlic bread, and if we have a supply of vegetables that isn’t enough for a side, I’ll add them to the protein.

“Normally, Mondays are our busiest days but lately it’s been busy every day. Even on Thursdays, which used to be our quietest day, we’re serving around 230.”

It’s a trajectory that Debbie has observed since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. “Back then, we thought we were busy if we served 100, 140 people, now it can be twice as many.”

“I absolutely love it here. Every day I go home feeling like it’s been a good day because I know our people have something decent in their tummies. We work very hard to provide a nutritious meal and they are so grateful.”

For Miki, working at HomeGround is better than living life as crew on superyachts, a life she once enjoyed.

“I just love it here. When I started, I couldn’t believe I got paid to do this!”

Miki started her career in social services after returning from two years’ work on superyachts. She had been cruising the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Pacific as a stewardess for the super-rich.

“It was amazing, but what was fascinating is that I went in expecting to see people who were very happy and having so much fun, yet what I found was a lot of sadness.

“My  employers were constantly dealing with business, there was no let-up to the stress.

“I also felt sad seeing such extreme wealth when I knew there were so many people who had nothing.  That’s when I realised it was time to go home and do something meaningful.”

Back in Tāmaki Makaurau, Miki joined Te Tāpui Atawhai mid-2022. “I support clients to sustain their  tenancies and for each person that means something different. One may need a little help to clean their home or develop a routine while someone else might want support to gain employment.

“A big part of my role is to be an advocate because these are people who have not been heard before. We have a duty to ensure that they understand what’s happening so that they can make informed choices. Many cannot identify their needs because they have always been ignored. They’ve been denied the chance to learn who they want to be in this world. Having a place to call home here means they finally have a chance to figure out who they are.

“Our whānau have a hard time out in the world because there’s a lot of judgment out there, but in here, they are accepted for who they are, and they understand each other.

“I have seen people laughing harder here than anywhere else I’ve worked, and I would say that’s because happiness is about connection and community. HomeGround really is a home for our whānau – and I have found my place, too.”