Bellyful Tauranga is celebrating 10 years of filling bellies across the Bay of Plenty.

'We're all about nourishing and connecting communities by cooking and delivering free meals to whānau, particularly those with newborn babies or young children, who need support,” says Bellyful Tauranga co-branch coordinator Nikki Reyneke.

The volunteer-driven charity was founded in 2009 in Pukekohe by Jacqui Ritchie.

After struggling with mental health and anxiety issues after having her second baby, Jacqui received support from friends and family who helped her in the way of prepared meals. 'She dreamt about women coming together to cook meals and giving them to mums who had a new baby and that's where Bellyful was born,” says Nikki.

Connecting with cooking

Bellyful has spread across New Zealand – today there are 25 branches nationwide. The Bellyful Tauranga branch started in September 2012, and continue to do what they set out for 10 years ago.

Nikki says Bellyful primarily supports whānau who lack a good local support network, are single parents, have welcomed twins, or are in family situations where their mental health is impacted, or illness is present.

'Many families don't have that traditional support network around them…that's where the support of community is even more important, and we can provide that support to families that need it.”

Referrals for Bellyful come through a variety of channels such as Plunket nurses, midwives, hospital staff, community organisations, friends and whānau, and self-referrals.

'We always say, don't be afraid to ask for help and the fact that they're even asking for help takes a lot of guts,” says Nikki.

Growing belly

The need for Bellyful is rapidly growing in Tauranga, and the branch's volunteer group meet every four-six weeks for a ‘Cookathon', says Nikki.

'In September 2018 we made 116 meals so it's almost tripled since then – it's quite phenomenal.”

Now, Bellyful delivers an average of 280 meals to 50-70 families a month.

'We used to cook at the Tauranga Boys' College kitchen space…now we cook at Baypark's commercial kitchen which is a lot larger, and through their support we can get more volunteers in and generate a lot more meals.”

After 10 years of supporting families in the Bay of Plenty, Nikki wants to continue raising community awareness of Bellyful.

'We really want to make sure all new mums – and if they're struggling – to know that we're here and more than happy to help them with that emotional need, even just in the way of meals.”

Learn more about Bellyful Tauranga at: https://bellyful.org.nz/bellyful-branches/tauranga/