'Free Guys' is a "take what you need, pay what you can" social supermarket where shoppers can access rescued and donated kai and products once a week.
Created under community food service Kai Avondale, the initiative evolved from a food parcel delivery service that began during level 4 lockdown last year. Project leader Dayne Smith says a transition to a social supermarket felt like the right move.
“Once we got out of Alert Level 4 and then 3, we felt the parcel service was very transactional and the people didn’t have the agency to choose what they wanted, so we thought 'right now start a social supermarket'.”
Smith leads a team of volunteers that prep the supermarket for the locals who come once per week.
He says that they make a conscious effort are sure to create an environment that feels more like a shopping experience than a food parcel service.
Choosing their own
“So they just come around, and they go to the different stations of food, selecting what they want,” says Smith.
The food and products are a mix of rescued food from supermarkets that were otherwise going to be thrown out, and donated products.
Kai Avondale coordinator Anne Riley is delighted with the quality of products that get delivered every Friday. “We have luxury items like chocolate and chocolate biscuits, to necessities like laundry powder, women’s products, eggs, milk, meat, bread, fruit and vegetables, pet food.”
Shoppers are referred by social services, schools and the wider Kai Avondale network. However, Smith says that all are welcome on the day.