Ka Pai SOUP, Round Two: The Pantry Challenge
In February this year, Planalytics’ team member, Lucy, and her daughter, Isla, attended the micro-funding event Ka Pai SOUP in Carterton. Community development agency Ka Pai Carterton recently hosted Round Two, and this time Planalytics was involved in supporting a pitch by local chef, Ant North - The Pantry Challenge. Read on to find out more.
The winner of Ka Pai SOUP #1, Hansel Wiramanaden, coordinator and mentor of Waicol band, Dragonfly, reporting back.
During Level 4 of New Zealand’s lockdown response to COVID-19, national and local media shone a light on the issue of food insecurity. The pandemic also raised awareness as to just how stressful food can be – when you don’t have enough of it, when you are too stressed to know what to do with it once you do have it, or when you are so out of inspiration or energy that even something on toast seems as complex as cordon bleu cooking.
From his bubble in Featherston, chef and caterer, Ant North, started to think about how he could use his cooking skills to help those in his community experiencing food need. Ant shared his ideas with his wife (and Planalytics’ visual journalist), Tiff North, and The Pantry Challenge was born.
What is The Pantry Challenge?
This is an early prototype of one of the recipe cards
Ant will create a series of 14 Facebook cooking demo videos creating quick, easy, and nutritious meals using common food parcel ingredients. Each video will be accompanied by a recipe card. These recipe cards will also be popped into food parcels so that people receiving food parcels can have a little bit of aroha and support to create simple, nutritious meals the whole whānau can enjoy.
A partnership approach
Planalytics have been aware of the local impact of food insecurity for some time, having undertaken research on the topic for local social services and community development agency, Connecting Communities Wairarapa back in 2019. Funded by the Lottery Grants Board Te Puna Tahua, our research highlighted the local response to food insecurity in Wairarapa, and some of the challenges to meeting this complex social, cultural, and economic need in our region. It made sense to the Planalytics’ team to get behind Ant to help develop and launch The Pantry Challenge.
Once The Pantry Challenge idea was hatched, Ant wasted no time talking with Indigo Freya, coordinator of the South Wairarapa Food Bank Collective. Indigo was quickly right behind The Pantry Challenge, supplying a list of common food parcel ingredients and items, and sharing her ideas as to how to make this idea really pop for our community. In fact, we’ve been blown away by the immediate support other community agencies have shown for the idea. Carterton food rescue agency, Waiwaste, have been very supportive, giving us heaps of ideas as to how we can get the word out about The Pantry Challenge. Jack Sheppard and Sophronia Smith, coordinators of Featherston’s community-led development agency, Fab Feathy, have also been incredibly receptive, and gave Ka Pai Carterton the heads up that The Pantry Challenge was on!
The Pantry Challenge team taking it next level with theatre!
Ka Pai Soup
As a result, Ka Pai Carterton invited The Pantry Challenge to pitch for funding to cover the cost of printing the recipe cards to be provided in food parcels donated by food banks and other food relief organisations. Attendees at Ka Pai Carterton’s SOUP Round Two raised over $1,700 in cash for the SOUP pot, to be awarded to the winning pitch. Five great ideas were pitched with passion and aroha. You can watch The Pantry Challenge pitch here.
Whilst Ant didn’t win on the night, it was clear that his idea struck a chord with the audience, generating fabulous ideas and offers of support from Carterton’s SOUP community. Our congratulations go to Emilie Nebaur and the Carterton Centre for Kaitiakitanga, who took home the SOUP pot. Emilie will use the funds towards developing the business case and plans for New Zealand’s first fully sustainable building to be developed on a site at Te Kura o Papatuanuku Wairarapa Earth School Charitable Trust’s base at South End School.
We look forward to bringing you updates on The Pantry Challenge. And, if you have any ideas as to how we can spread the word about this idea, please, get in touch.
Ka Pai SOUP attendees enjoying a great evening of ideas and soup!