A new place for sharing and feeding your neighbours' bellies stands proudly at Brookfield Terrace.

At the start of this month, the Ōtūmoetai Pātaka Kai – or sharing shed – opened up, seeing a flurry of food being shared among the community.

Sparked to life by local resident Kristina Johnson, she says the Pātaka Kai has already been pumping in its first two weeks. 'It's actually been really busy! To see the amount of things that have been dropped off and picked up has been amazing.”

After seeing a sharing shed in a nearby suburb, Kristina decided she wanted one in her community's corner. 'I was jealous of the Matua Sharing Shed and the great produce and items donated, but never made it in time to get items before they were snatched up. So I asked on Facebook if anyone was interested to have one in our area – as I always have extra from the veggie garden or fruit trees and I don't want it to go to waste.”

Greerton Ōtūmoetai Lions Club got behind the idea straight away, says Kristina. 'They got all the materials, they built it, they planned it, and they delivered it and installed it.

'It took eight months just because of Covid, so we've been organising it since January and it finally got installed in August.”

'I was so proud of them and so proud of our community,” says Kristina. 'It was filled straight away and it's just amazing thing to see. Everyone is going through financial toughness with the rising costs of everything, so it's nice if you have extra produce or fruit and veges out of the garden just to put it there for someone else that may be in need.”

Kristina says there's no cost involved with the Pātaka Kai and all are welcome. 'Pātaka Kai, which means ‘storehouse' or ‘pantry' in te reo Māori, is a place where people can leave food for other people to take for free It's the community helping the community.”

Ōtūmoetai Pātaka Kai is located on Brookfield Terrace. Check out the Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/3145972655706891