3 Nov 2011

Foodbank struggling to meet demand, Green leaders told

10:44 am on 3 November 2011

The Green Party co-leaders have visited an Auckland foodbank as they continue to campaign on their policy to lift more children out of poverty.

Metiria Turei and Russel Norman visited the Salvation Army's foodbank in Glenfield on the North Shore on Wednesday after spending the morning campaigning in the seaside suburb Devonport.

The Salvation Army's director of community ministries on the North Shore, Major Paul Herring, says last year demand for services at Glenfield rose 30% and the foodbank is struggling to meet a growing demand.

About 25 families use the foodbank each day and Mr Herring says it is just one of a number of agencies operating on the North Shore.

Greens co-leader Metiria Turei says her party plans to lift 100,000 children out of poverty by extending Working for Families tax credits to beneficiaries and raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour.