Pantry Starved for Funding

In the first three months of the year, VUWSA and Te Herenga Waka’s co-run community pantry has seen an increase of 400% in the rate of pick-ups since 2024, raising concerns that their budget might be exhausted well before October. 

The pantry, which is funded partially through VUWSA and partially by allocation of the student-contributed Student Hardship Fee, offers a free emergency food parcel service to students who are struggling with financial hardship. The service can be accessed once every two months by filling out a community pantry form at the VUWSA Kelburn office or Te Aro Library, with regular use leading to a referral for Student Finance. 

VUWSA receptionist Maia Moana, who oversees placing orders for the community pantry, told Salient in 2025 “we did double the amount of community pantry pickups than the year before.” 

And it's only set to increase. Speaking about 2026, Moana said “we’re on track to do double of last year's and it’s only March.”

This uptick is putting pressure on the service—"we ran out of budget in October last year, and with us already having more [orders], I’m expecting the budget to run out even earlier.” 

“Every time I’m ordering [for] community pantry, it’s getting picked up in the first two, three days.”

“I’m ordering once a week where before I was ordering like every three weeks,” she explained. 

According to Moana it’s “awesome that students are accessing the service because that’s what it’s there for,” but that “it’s just been such a crazy uptick.”

The cost of living for the average New Zealand household has increased by 2.2% in the 12 months prior to December 2025, and inflation has risen by 3.1% over the same period, according to the New Zealand government. 

“The impression that I’m getting is that people are struggling,” Moana told Salient. “I’m getting different demographics coming through…students I don’t usually see.” 

“Lots of older students, lots of students with families.” 

Last year the association was able to request an additional $2000 from Student Finance to tide the pantry over to the end of the year, but Moana says that this year, “it would probably be like six grand more.”

Moana emphasised that grocery parcels become even more essential as the year carries on and it gets colder. “Students need it,” she said.

But without increased funding or generous contribution from Student Finance, it’s unlikely that the community pantry will last until the end of the calendar year, let alone the academic one.