Jodie never imagined she’d one day need the help of a food bank. She had a successful career, a loving family, and owned her own home. When a medical emergency last year turned her life upside down, support from the Auckland City Mission – Te Tāpui Atawhai helped Jodie and her family through their time of crisis. 

It began with a phone call that no parent ever wants to receive: her 17-year-old son, who was visiting family overseas, had nearly died and had been rushed to hospital. 

While her partner stayed in New Zealand to look after their two younger children, Jodie dropped everything to fly over and be with her son while he recovered. “I spent two months there with him and used all my financial resources to help with his rehabilitation. All our family contributed – they did the best that they could. But I’m his mum and I gave everything I had.” 

When he was well enough to travel, Jodie brought him home. The charity where she worked in a leadership role had given her two months leave of absence, but her son still needed round-the-clock care. “I could have kept my job if I returned in two months. [My work] helped me however they could, but after two months my son still really needed me.” 

Jodie felt broken by the trauma of almost losing her son and now found herself grappling with her new financial reality.  

“I’ve gone from bringing home $1,700 a week to being on the benefit.” 

Her partner works part-time as a mechanic, while studying full-time towards a degree in social work, so without Jodie’s salary it became a daily struggle to pay the bills, cover the mortgage, and put food on the table. 

“We were blessed to be able to take a mortgage holiday – that’s why we’ve still got a roof over our head. I had to do a strict budget and make things stretch. Not one single thing went to waste. But the cost of living in Auckland is so high, it got to the point where money was dried up.” 

“I’d never ever before found myself in a situation where I didn’t have any food for my children. To the point where I’ve used everything within the cupboards, even made bread out of the flour.” 

“I was frightened. I didn’t know how I was going to feed my kids. We had nowhere to turn.” 

Jodie couldn’t ask her family for support – they had already helped as much as they could with her son’s recovery. Pride stopped her asking friends for help: “I didn’t want to become a burden. I didn’t want the judgement or the pity.” Without a job, her bank wouldn’t lend her any money. The (six-monthly) $450 food grant she could get from WINZ didn’t go far. 

The way she was treated every time she reached out for help, left Jodie feeling “so degraded, like my dignity was stolen from me.”  

Until she came to the Mission. At the Mission, we provide nutritious food and compassionate care for people experiencing food insecurity. 

“I was in such a dark place, but from that first phone call with the Mission, I was treated with dignity and respect. They were kind. They were compassionate.” 

“I felt human again. And it reminded me that there are good people in the world, who really do care.” 

Our boxes of food contain enough nourishing food to last four days. When she opened her first food box from the Mission, Jodie was overwhelmed with relief. 

“My spirit lifted because it was ingredients to make proper meals. There was meat, veggies, brown bread, butter. I’m so grateful to the Auckland City Mission, because it was real food to keep my children full and healthy.” 

Getting food support from the Mission every few weeks has helped Jodie get her life back on track. 

“I wasn’t mentally ready to apply for jobs three months ago, because I was so broken. It was when I came to the Mission and was treated with dignity and respect, that I started to recover and remember who I am.”  

Today, Jodie and her family are in a much better place. Her son has fully recovered and is now at university. And Jodie is starting a new job as a case manager at Work and Income New Zealand – where she’ll be able to use her personal experience to support others going through tough times. 

“I’m very happy to go back to work. We won’t need food parcels anymore. And when we’re back on our feet, I’ll become a regular donor to the Mission.” 

Nothing can take away the trauma Jodie and her family went through, but support from the Mission helped them through their time of crisis. 

“If I hadn’t come to the Mission, there was nowhere else for us to go. Without the Mission’s help, my children would have gone hungry. Now we can get back to living life.”