Despite being one of Aotearoa’s “food basket” regions, whānau across Waikato continue to experience high rates of food insecurity. Now, Kirikiriroa Family Services Trust (KFST) hopes to offer struggling households meaningful relief with the opening of a new social supermarket in Hamilton.
While the model originated in Austria in the 1990s and debuted Aotearoa in Wellington in 2021, social supermarkets are rapidly gaining momentum nationwide.
Instead of receiving standard pre-packed food parcels, whānau are allocated a set number of points and can walk the aisles to choose the specific groceries that best meet their own household and cultural needs.
Jaye Wainui, Tumu Whakarae of KFST, says the popularity of social supermarkets is largely driven by their ability to give struggling whānau with a renewed sense of independence and mana.
“Bringing this type of model into the Waikato, into Kirikiriroa, is based on that dignity model; you can choose things for yourself, pop it in a trolley, just like that.”
Wainui says the service typically supports larger households with more than four children, often where parents are working full-time.
“A very large percentage of whānau who are eligible for this type of support don’t come because they’re whakamā. So, you sort of avoid it altogether and go home starving, and your kids go home starving too.”
Waikato food insecurity remains high
According to the Waikato Wellbeing Project research, about 10% of Waikato households face direct food insecurity, and 10-12% of children in the region live in food-insecure households.
Waikato also sits above the national averages for both unemployment and child poverty. The national unemployment rate was 5.3% in the March 2026 quarter, while MBIE regional data shows tracking higher than the national rate.
Wainui says that whatever metric is used, one thing is clear: Waikato is bearing the brunt of the cost-of-living crisis.
“With the release of the food insecurity report in ’25, Hamilton and the wider Waikato currently hold the highest food insecurity rates in the country. So, the national average is 33%, and Waikato is 40%.”
Hamilton social supermarket part of the wider whānau support
Kirikiriroa Family Services is already an active organisation in the Hamilton community, providing wrap-around programs such as Te Korowai Tauawhi (Family Start) and Te Haumirimiri Ngākau Mokopuna.
Although another social supermarket already operates in Hamilton, Wainui says the word to support vulnerable whānau is ongoing.
“We’re not just a one-stop shop for one need; we’re trying to do much more than that, and this is just the hook to get our whānau in here and help them as much as we can.”
The new Hamilton social supermarket is expected to open within the next two months.
