For families facing illness, financial hardship, grief or the demands of caring for young children, something as simple as a ready-made meal can make a world of difference.

That’s the philosophy behind Bellyful Tauranga, a volunteer-run organisation providing home-cooked meals to families with children under 12.

Each month, volunteers gather at a local commercial kitchen to prepare family-sized meals, which are delivered to households across the Bay of Plenty.

“Having a warm meal is one less thing for families to worry about, it’s a way for communities to show families they’re not alone when life suddenly becomes overwhelming,” Bellyful’s Tauranga branch co-coordinator Sarah Elliott said.

As the service continues to support hundreds of households, Bellyful Tauranga is encouraging more people to consider joining its volunteer network.

While not facing a volunteer shortage, Elliott said new volunteers are always welcome to help meet ongoing demand and keep meals available for families who need them.

She said the organisation was “lucky” in the sense that they found it quite easy to attract and keep volunteers once they came aboard because they simply had fun.

“Our volunteers cook these meals knowing they’re going to families having a rough time, and it’s a simple way to show these families that their community is standing alongside them”.

Elliott said the Tauranga branch had a volunteer base of between 60 to 70 volunteers and always welcomed new people.

Volunteers have no fixed rosters, and can sign up when they are available and step back when life gets busy.

Bellyful volunteers gather monthly at a local commercial kitchen to prepare family-sized meals. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell

That flexibility has helped Bellyful Tauranga maintain a reliable volunteer network while continuing to meet demand from local families.

“My mantra has always been if you come and do one or two cooks for us a year, you’ve really helped that day, and every bit that a person does is helpful,” Elliot said.

She said people who are empathetic and compassionate towards others make excellent Bellyful volunteers.

“They need to be people who just want to help, and genuinely believe that dropping meals off to someone is a kind and helpful thing to do - no questions asked about who’s receiving the them.”

Bellyful provides meals for whānau with babies or children under 12 who are without a support network and are facing challenges such as illness, bereavement, stress, isolation, pregnancy, miscarriage, or baby loss – regardless of financial situation.

“We support a huge range of people going through stress, and it’s those who don’t have another support system that can step in and help out.”

Bellyful Tauranga is a volunteer-run organisation providing home-cooked meals to families with children under 12. Photo / Kaitlyn Morrell

Last year the Tauranga branch delivered 3500 meals to 700 families, and 550 meals provided to parents at the Special Care Baby Unit.

“There’s handmade love in every meal because it’s made by humans and people who actually want to make someone else’s day better,” Elliott said.

Many volunteers form friendships and return month after month because they enjoy connection and the opportunity to help others.

“If you come into Bellyful, you are part of us, you belong with us, and have an amazing purpose, for a couple of hours a day, or once a month, you’ve fill a whole lot of bellies.”

People interested in volunteering with Bellyful can register through the organisation’s website by completing an online form.

Once details are submitted, a local Bellyful team will get in touch to discuss how they can get involved.

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