The Bellyful Board of Trustees is delighted to present this year’s Annual Performance Report.
Read our Annual Performance Report here
In the year to March 2023, we delivered 31,968 meals to 5,586 whānau.
Bellyful NZ’s positive impact, supporting whānau with babies or young children in local communities throughout Aotearoa NZ continues to grow. Navigating the pandemic was tough but with the unwavering support of our volunteers, our small team of paid staff, and our many supporters throughout the country we’ve positioned ourselves well to continue supporting Aotearoa NZ whānau.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2022/2023
NEW MEAL LAUNCHED
A new meal was added to Bellyful delivery bags from April 2022. Our Mild Vegetarian Curry was tested, tweaked, and perfected with the help of several of our branches. This meal was carefully created to cater for our whānau who have dietary requests. Packed with vegetables, it’s super nutritious and very yummy.
EXPANSIONS INTO HASTINGS AND STRATFORD
In July 2022 Bellyful Napier expanded into Hastings and changed its name to Bellyful Hawke’s Bay to reflect its wider reach. Earlier, Bellyful New Plymouth increased its delivery area to also include Stratford. The Stratford community rallied behind the initiative, with a team of local delivery drivers joining the Bellyful New Plymouth volunteer pool.
200,000 MEALS MILESTONE
In October 2022, we marked the massive milestone of delivering 200,000 meals. Outgoing General Manager Wendy Thompson said it was only possible because of our incredible volunteers. “They have driven the opening of new branches, found local funding, and turned up time after time to cook and deliver meals. An immeasurable number of volunteer hours has gone into those 200,000 meals. Along with an immense number of onions!”
NATIONAL HUI AND TRAINING WEEKEND
After two years of postponements, we gathered around 70 of our volunteer leaders in Christchurch for our National Hui and Training Weekend from October 28-30. Having so many Belly-fillers together in one place to learn, reconnect and share was invaluable. We also gathered for our Heart Awards celebration to celebrate the mahi aroha of our volunteers.
WELCOME TO OUR NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE
In November 2022 we were delighted to welcome our new Chief Executive Fiona Purchas. Fiona’s leadership in learning and development, career coaching and organisational performance consulting stretch across the for-good, local government and corporate spaces, being National President of Multiples NZ, and most recently CE with a local charity providing residential care for young people with complex needs.
RALLYING FOR HAWKE’S BAY AFTER CYCLONE
The impacts of the catastrophic weather came when we were already seeing a rise in demand for Bellyful’s support across the country. Demand has climbed since August 2022 culminating in a record year in which we:
Bellyful’s Wellington branches united to help get meals to Hawke’s Bay in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023. Bellyful Hawke’s Bay had to cancel a planned Cookathon due to the cyclone, leaving its freezers near empty, so Bellyful’s five Wellington branches banded together to cook extra meals.
REFERRAL NUMBERS CONTINUE TO CLIMB
Demand has climbed since August 2022 culminating in a record year in which we:
- Received 25% more referrals than the previous year
- Delivered 28% more meals
- Supported 25% more whānau.
We are also fielding many inquiries about opening new branches and are working with people across the country interested in bringing Bellyful to their communities.
NICU MEALS AND MEALS FOR MIDDLEMORE
Getting meals where they are most needed is a Bellyful priority and we have expanded our service providing meals for families in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and Special Care Baby Units (SCBUs) throughout the country. This is a shared initiative with Little Miracles Trust who provide the freezers and make sure whānau know about the meals. In the year to March, we provided 1,534 meals directly to these units. We also began supplying the NICU at Middlemore Hospital, reaching an area where we do not have a branch but are aware of the great need.
