Auckland charities are reporting a deceptive dip in food parcel pick-ups because the city’s most disadvantaged are unable to even afford petrol to reach distribution hubs.

St Vincent de Paul Onehunga general manager Delphina Soti says her team are seeing an increased demand for food parcels via phone since global oil supply was disrupted by the Iran war six weeks ago.

But these requests for assistance verbally don’t correspond to people actually picking up the food parcels, Soti says.

“People save whatever they have left to go pick up the kids, as opposed to come and get food over here, you know. A lot of what we experience here is that food is a discretionary item.

“We have felt it’s like going back to Covid times where people are trying to figure out how they could come to pick up stuff. They were asking us if there were deliveries.”

Across Auckland, St Vincent de Paul Society historically sees their “unable to pick up” food support data at 1-4% at most. This is often linked to weather or one-off disruptions that equates to around five to 12 families per week.

But from March 2 to April 10, the average weekly “unable to pick up” rate has been 14.4%. In the week of March 23 to 27, the unable to pick up rate was at 26.3%.

In real terms, Vinnies Tāmaki Makaurau saw 64 families in February unable to pick up from their food hub and in March, this escalated to 87 families.

“This is not about disengagement. It is about access, and in particular, the cost of petrol,” Soti said.

Village Community Trust chief executive Maliena Jones said her organisation has been experiencing the exact same dire situation, with multiple households forced to organise car pools to reach its Avondale hub.

“It’s weird because we have a lot of people requesting, but in the last couple of weeks ... it seems like more than normal we have no-shows.

“Some of them are deferring their appointment to another day when they can get a ride with somebody else. The request to get food parcels is increasing, but we’re still not seeing everyone come through.”

St Vincent de Paul Onehunga general manager Delphina Soti. Photo / Michael Craig

Likewise, Auckland City Mission’s general manager of food security Tara Moala said her organisation saw a 10% increase from February to March in their “didn’t collect” spreadsheet for food parcels.

In February, this meant 51 parcels weren’t collected and in March, it was up to 65 parcels.

“I was talking to one of the connectors that was on the phone, and he said it was 9.30 in the morning and he’d already had three people asking if we could deliver to them because they just couldn’t get in.

“We can’t deliver to individual households because, as you can imagine, we do around 70 and 80 food parcels a day. We can’t physically get out to everybody. But we might be able to get out to a community, so those people don’t have to travel so much. We’re looking at those options.”

The mission has also seen a marked increase in people citing “cost of living” as the reason why they need their services. Moala says at the beginning of this year that answer was given by 40% of people, but by March it was up to 60%.

Getting the food back to people’s homes has also been a logistical nightmare for many.

“We’ve seen as many as three all squeezing in the car together, because our food parcels are big sizes,” Jones said.

“We do get people coming in using public transport, but the issue is always trying to get all that we provide on to a bus. So some have come with a suitcase.”

Soti is also seeing increasingly desperate efforts to transport large food parcels.

“We’re seeing people catch a few buses to get here, and then it’s raining, then we try to find a trolley, because we’re not exactly in a commercial or industrial area.

“So if you imagine families walking, you’re seeing more and more on these little moped things or bikes and trying to lug all this stuff home. It’s heart-wrenching to see, because you can’t offer any rides.”

Soti also said “it’s not uncommon for us to be jump-starting cars” and filling gas tanks with petrol cans at their Onehunga hub “because by the time they come here, they’re on dregs”.

Moala says a lot of the people the City Mission helps are “mammas” who are “super clever” and resourceful in being able to access the services it provides.

“We also are seeing lots of our whānau are asking ‘oh, is it okay if I have a later session because my friend’s coming in and she can pick me up’. So definitely a lot of carpooling. Our whānau in high need, they really have to work hard to be able to survive.”

Auckland City Mission’s general manager of food security Tara Moala. Photo / Greg Bowker

Soti said her organisation has also seen a corresponding dip in appointments with people who they provide budgeting services to.

“We have families that we take on who’ve got significant debt and they come in because they also need food.

“They work with some really good mentors looking at debt recovery or mortgages and different things like that. But what we’re finding is growing absenteeism from those sessions as well.”

Minister for Social Development Louise Upston said people experiencing particular difficulties should talk to the ministry about what they may be eligible for.

Upston cited the extra $50 per week through a boost to the In-Work Tax Credit the Government announced on March 24 to about 143,000 families with kids and support workers.

“Our Government is extremely conscious of the impact the conflict in the Middle East is having on families,” Upston said.

The In-Work Tax Credit (IWTC) is a payment to families with dependent children where at least one parent is in paid employment and neither parent receives a main benefit from Work and Income.

In the current tax year, 2025/26, the cut-off for receiving the tax credit is around $89,000 of annual family income for a family with one child, $112,000 for a family with two children and $135,000 for a family with three children.

The added payment would last for one year or until the price of 91-octane petrol drops below $3 a litre for four consecutive weeks.

Upston also noted that superannuitants, students and beneficiaries received an increase in the financial support they get from the Government from April 1, 2026.

She said this included over 435,000 working age beneficiaries receiving increased support. A couple with children will receive an additional $40 a fortnight – on top of the $50 family tax credit increase.

Prices at Auckland's GV Mobil petrol station in Oteha Valley, Albany on March 25. Photo / Michael Craig

Greens co-leader and MP for Auckland Central Chlöe Swarbrick oversees an electorate with a high proportion of the region’s rough sleepers who congregate in the centre of the city.

She says the city’s poorest being further deprived of access to transport would “anecdotally track with a number of the things we’re hearing on the ground from communities”.

“The reality is, so many people are struggling so profoundly, and they already were before this fossil fuel crisis hit ... we are in a bit of a doom loop with regard to the challenges that we’re facing,” Swarbrick said.

“As the local MP who is so frequently engaged with many street whānau, access to support is so far and few between, because the Government has cut so many contracts with social service providers.”