Hauora Kai – From Small Beginnings to Over 70,000 Packs a Year
Written By Ruth Nichol
Our Journey
It all started in May 2014 as a six-month pilot aimed at making it easier for whānau in Porirua East to access fresh fruit and vegetables. Fast forward ten years, Hauora Kai, now known as the Wellington Region Fruit & Vege Co-op, has grown into a region-wide initiative that delivers affordable hauora kai (healthy food) to more than 1500 whānau every week.
The Early Days
In the beginning, our operation was humble. Two dedicated individuals would arrive at Market Gardeners (MG) in Granada North at 5:30 am every Tuesday to select fresh produce for 40 households. They then transported the produce to Cannons Creek, where volunteers packed the items into bags for pickup at a few local spots.
Makerita Makapelu, our team manager at Wesley’s Cannons Creek, recalls those early mornings as cold and dark but filled with purpose and community spirit.
Expansion and Growth
The success of our initial pilot sparked interest from other communities. By February 2015, the Wellington Region Fruit and Vege Co-op (Hauora Kai) officially launched with six packing hubs across Porirua East, Titahi Bay, Naenae, Upper Hutt, Waiwhetu, and Wainuiomata.
To meet the increasing demand, we appointed a Co-op coordinator and partnered with ME Transport to deliver produce to our packing hubs.
Today, our Co-op is a large-scale operation involving a fleet of trucks, vans, trailers, and cars, supported by over 100 volunteers across 12 packing hubs in Wellington, the Hutt, Kapiti Coast, and the Wairarapa.
Our Mission and Partnership
From the start, Hauora Kai has been a partnership between Wesley Community Action and Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora (formerly Wellington Regional Public Health). Our goal was to address the lack of affordable fresh produce in Porirua East. Research by Emmeline Taptiklis at RPH highlighted how local whānau relied on fast food and convenience stores due to the unavailability of fresh food.
For Wesley, it was a matter of social justice. Makerita Makapelu pointed out that many residents in Porirua East still face challenges accessing local supermarkets.
A Decade of Impact
In 2013, representatives from both organizations visited the Christchurch Healthy Eating Co-op (now Food Together) to gather insights. Armed with this knowledge, we launched our pilot in May 2014, receiving an overwhelming response from the community.
Ten years later, our Co-op continues to thrive. We have introduced levies to support operations, increased the cost of packs to $15, and expanded our offerings to include eggs and frozen meat products.
Looking Ahead
As we celebrate our 10-year anniversary, we're proud of our achievements and remain committed to better serving our communities. We're exploring more kai options, enabling members to select their own produce, and incorporating more locally produced kai into our Co-ops.
