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The people behind the meals. Two days of connectin The people behind the meals. Two days of connecting, learning and laughing at Bellyful Hui 2026.

Thanks to our amazing venue @rydgeslatimer for being such great hosts.

🩷 Filling Bellies, Filling Minds.
There’s something pretty special that happens when There’s something pretty special that happens when the Bellyful whānau comes together.

This past weekend in Ōtautahi, volunteers from across Aotearoa gathered for Bellyful Hui 2026 - reconnecting, learning and refilling the cups of the people who spend so much of their time filling everyone else’s.

Held under our Filling Bellies, Filling Minds volunteer development kaupapa, Hui was a reminder that while the meals matter deeply, so do the people behind them.

There are many people we’ll be thanking over the coming days. But we wanted to begin by acknowledging the organisations whose support helped bring volunteers from across the motu together.

Ngā mihi nui to @wrightfamilyfoundationnz our primary Hui sponsor, for helping bring the wider Hui programme to life.

We are also incredibly grateful to @pubcharityltd and @aotearoa_gaming_trust whose support helped make attendance possible for a number of branches across the country.
Happy Mother's Day, from all of us at Bellyful. Happy Mother's Day, from all of us at Bellyful.
A little something sweet can go a long way. Until A little something sweet can go a long way.

Until Mother’s Day, every coffee and muffin purchased together at @muffinbreaknz means a donation to Bellyful! Take a mum out for a treat and pay it forward for another family.
“I was a mum, with two under two. I didn’t realise “I was a mum, with two under two. I didn’t realise how challenging it would be.”

When Laila welcomed her second baby, life quickly became a juggle. With a newborn and a toddler at home, and her partner working full time — and spending his spare time renovating their house to make it child-friendly — much of the day-to-day load fell to her.

“I was finding it hard juggling looking after the newborn and toddler alone while also trying to maintain the household and cook meals.”

Like many parents in those early years, the days were full and often exhausting. Even simple things, like deciding what to make for dinner, could feel overwhelming.

That’s when Bellyful stepped in.

“It really helped to relieve some of the stress on what to prepare for dinner, especially on those very stressful days when you don’t feel like you achieve anything.”

A meal might seem like a small thing, but for Laila and her whānau, it made a real difference — easing the pressure and creating a little more space to focus on what mattered most.

Laila also has a message for others who might be finding things tough:

“Don’t be embarrassed to reach for help if you are struggling. It doesn’t make you weak.”

And for the volunteers who made and delivered those meals:

“Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts and tummies. Your kindness has meant so so much to our family trying to navigate the journey of parenthood.”

💗 Thank you, Laila, for sharing your story.

#MumLife #ParentingJourney #TwoUnderTwo #BellyfulNZ #CommunitySupport #Dunedin
We are still counting up all the pasta donated dur We are still counting up all the pasta donated during Macaroni March, it has been epic!

We want to give a big shout out to @gallagherinsurancenz for their collection in support of our Wellington branches.

Your team’s effort is helping keep our freezers stocked and meals going out to local whānau.

We’re so grateful to have you in our corner. Thank you again to everyone who donated pasta and raised funds for us! We could not do it without our amazing community!
More than a meal. Bellyful gives families a break More than a meal. Bellyful gives families a break when they need it most:

“My baby was very unwell in his first few weeks of life and I was experiencing post-natal depression. My family does not live in Auckland. My Plunket Nurse organised a couple of Bellyful meals for us and it had a significant impact on me. 

"It wasn't just the meals - it was the text message from the person delivering them, it was the little check-in from her later on, and it was knowing that what I was going through was normal and there were many wonderful women out there in the community providing support for people like me! I will definitely volunteer for Bellyful in the near future.”

Refer yourself or a whānau who need a hand for meals at bellyful.org.nz
From our Bellyful family to yours, Happy Easter 🐰🩷 From our Bellyful family to yours, Happy Easter 🐰🩷
THANK YOU for making Macaroni March so magical 💗 THANK YOU for making Macaroni March so magical 💗

It’ll take us a while to collect and count all the donated pasta, but we can already tell you - it’s an epic amount. To everyone who has donated pasta, money or their time, thank you! 

If you’ve been meaning to help, there’s still time to donate a meal: https://fundraise.bellyful.org.nz/
Holy macaroni, is all we can say ... what a March Holy macaroni, is all we can say ... what a March we are having, thanks to all of you, our amazing supporters.

We’ve got branches stocked with enough macaroni for months of Cookathons, cash donations coming in from all corners of Aotearoa, schools and ECEs rallying their communities, people hosting fun fundraising events at home, and incredible teams like the @correctionsnz Digital crew rolling up their sleeves to help us fill bellies. 

Thank you to @zaziplays and @deepblueseeee for the amazing support in spreading the word!

And a special shout-out to @womenofmediaworks for also rallying behind us to mark International Women's Day! 

Times are tough, and we are seeing fresh demand from people who need a few nights off cooking more than ever, so we thank you for standing up and supporting our volunteers to do what we do best - filling bellies!

You can still help! Go to the link in our bio to donate a meal this Macaroni March!

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