How much love is there in a barbecued sausage? If love is a measurable thing and can be quantified in $15 bags of Mad Butcher snags then the answer is about 120 sausages' worth. And that's quite a bit of love and community connection, according to Doug Barnes.

'Gate Pa is a low decile area. But I like to look at the positives. It's a great community but just needs a little bit of love.”

This story of love and sausages started with a meeting of strangers in Cook St, Gate Pa. 'I invited a couple of neighbours to a potluck dinner. I wanted to get to know some people in the community, the people I live amongst.”

Doug believes there's a desire to change the way communities interact. 'I was looking for a way to do something different.” And he met two like-minded neighbours called Wiremu and Teisha.

So one week after the shared dinner the barbecue went out on the street – and Doug and Wiremu and Teisha cooked up some love. Not just for the neighbours but the whole neighbourhood.

'We bought some food, $50 worth of sausages. Someone bought some sausage rolls, someone else bought some corn.” It all came together nicely.

People came and went. Children came and went. 'Sometimes a kid would grab a sausage and take it into a house for someone who didn't want to join in. That's okay. 'We're happy with that, we have made a connection.”

What about the freeloaders, those who will take advantage, who want something for nothing? 'We didn't ask people about their motives, whether they were short of food or not. That's not our job. If they came along, that's fine. We just wanted to connect.”

And some people are well off. 'That's fine too because we also want to talk to them. Get to know them.”

And the interesting observation was made that on the strength of a barbecued sausage, a free one, local kids who used to fight each other were now playing together.

'We chatted with them about school, favourite subjects, favourite sports. It's a good feeling. It's about loving on the community.”

'You never get to know all the people you live amongst. But with a free street barbecue for a couple of hours on a Saturday evening you can.”

The free Gate Pa Saturday night barbecue is an organic thing. They don't know where it's headed. But the love is spreading. 'Seeing kids playing together and people talking is inspiring.”

This Saturday night it's free pizza.