Frequently Asked Questions

Food will save lives and spare people from hunger pangs, malnutrition and the diseases that follow. Well-nourished bodies are better able to resist infectious diseases such as Covid-19.

The UN has reported that at least 155 million people are “acutely food insecure and in need of assistance”. In some contexts, Christians may be the last people in a long line to buy what little food is available; being more likely to be jobless, they may not be able to even afford it. Our food.gives initiative is focused on getting food regularly and urgently to those areas of greatest need.

Ian Proudfoot, Agribusiness auditor from Klynveld PeatMarwick Goerdeler NZ has reported that: “We grow enough food to feed around 40 million people; once we have fed ourselves and our visitors, we can export enough food to feed about 35 million people. The goal with this is not to feed the full diet for 35 million people but to provide a small part of the diet to a much larger group of people for which they will pay a premium price.” [2].

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2020) 74:307313 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0557-z

• Sanctions – some of the most needy countries around the globe have sanctions placed on them by the West. That means that it is near impossible to transfer funds to them. In almost all cases, shipment of humanitarian goods are allowed;
• Many countries are placing stringent controls on the flow of grant monies into the country. India and its FCRA is one good example. The smaller Christian organisations and churches, which do not have the resources and skills to navigate the FCRA regulations, will miss out. One thing that is banned under the FCRA regulations is forwarding of international funds by an Indian organisation with a FCRA account to another Indian organisation with no FCRA account;

• This could be from pure corruption, fraud or theft, to;
• Running at high overheads locally, etc;
• Therefore sending already made food parcels, giving to churches and elders to distribute, is a step to mitigate misuse.

• Shipping – I have generated a shipping quote for a 20ft/6mt container from NZ to India, and the initial quote worst case scenario was $10,500
• Typically a 20ft container could take 12 pallets, which could hold approximate 145 food parcels per pallet. That is 1,740 per container.
• We currently provide monthly food parcels to 1,600 Pakistani families at $40-$45 per parcels per month per family. That is 1,600 parcels per month, or 19,200 parcels per year. The cost is $64,000 – $72,000 per month, or $768,000 - $864,000 per year.
• We had a quick look on Countdown/Pak n Save NZ site for a typical basket. This could come to approximately $30.
• Asking our supporters to donate food stuffs, our outlay will only be the running costs of the programme, and the shipping costs of course.
• We are asking our supporters to buy an extra bag of rice, lentils, etc. when they do their own shopping.

Epap – as you know, we have been shipping epap from South Africa to both Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Epap is available in those countries, but the cost to purchase in the country is currently around $7 per kg. We are able to purchase and ship it for $5.50 per kg. That is a difference of $1.40 per kg. So across the 55.5 tonnes we have done thus far, we have saved $76,430. This money can then be used elsewhere.

Of course purchasing food like this is often not an option, but it speaks into the inflation when purchasing food locally. But it illustrates the cost effectiveness.

In areas where there are food shortage, supply and demand have shown us that food prices can easily double or triple locally. So the money we do send do not go as far.

• Providing an opportunity for supporters to volunteer their time for Barnabas Aid. Donating food, but also involved in packing the food parcels.
• This could lead to a younger supporter base, and provide an opportunity for our future mailing list to get on board with Barnabas Aid.
• Schools and churches can get involved, and use it as a helpful way for children to engage with donating food, etc. looking after the poor and hungry.

This will depend on a number of factors, including where the shipping container is being sent from, and its destination country alongside other costs such as custom tariffs. However, the food.gives team have formed an excellent working relationship with NGO freight specialists who will ensure all costs are kept to an absolute minimum.

Yes. The shop online orders can be placed with these store locations below and then picked up and delivered to the storage facility by a volunteer or staff of Barnabas Aid. Please schedule your pick up on Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday from 9:00AM – 4:00PM from one of the following locations.

• Countdown Manukau - 652 Great South Road, Manukau City, Auckland, 2104
• Pak’n Save Manukau - 6 Cavendish Drive, Manukau City, Auckland, 2104
• New World Papatoetoe - 65 St Georges Street, Papatoetoe, Auckland, 2025

If you need instructions on how to do a shop online grocery order or if you would like to be volunteer that will pick up the orders, please contact the office.

food.gives will work with local project partners who Barnabas Aid have long and trusted relationships with and also live in the countries receiving food sent. This network of project partners has proven vital in Barnabas Aid’s 28 years of ministry and again will be essential in ensuring the food sent to us will arrive at its intended destination.

food.gives is privileged to channel the gifts of food through our trusted networks, whereby local project partners in the countries of destination will check and distribute the food accordingly to the neediest families, churches etc.

There are general areas predominantly in Africa, Asia, South-east Asia and the Middle East that will receive the food. The exact country will depend on current needs and opportunities, but we desire to respond as effectively and practically as possible to the needs facing persecuted Christians.

We have established general areas from which we will then decide at the time, what the needs and opportunities there are to support persecuted Christians. In light of this, we are unable to specify who exactly will receive the food. However, you will be pleased to know that in particular reference to supporting our Brick-Kiln project through Living Streams, your support is currently providing food parcels to those families already. For more information, please visit the Barnabas Aid website.

The travel time to transport a shipping container will vary depending on the length of the journey from New Zealand to it final destination. However, we believe that on average it will take 4 – 5 weeks to arrive.

Once a shipping container has been filled up with your food boxes, it will be transported to a designated port ready to be transported by sea to the country of destination. It will then be received by our local project partners, who will arrange further transportation of the food boxes from those ports to designated distribution points within that country.

Our desire it to send out one shipping container each per month, from all of our food.gives locations, including New Zealand, Australia, USA and the UK.