Supported by Te Puni Kōkiri and located at Merge Café on Karangahape road, doors will be opened to feed the whānau in most need during the cold snap and to mark the rising of Matariki this year.
Plans are underway to host more than 200 vulnerable whānau in Tāmaki Makaurau on the 25th of July at Merge Café on 143 Karangahape road.
As well as serving up fry bread, kai moana, rewana and boil up, Te Puni Kōkiri are partnering with the local communities including Merge, Auckland City Mission, New World Victoria Park, Innocent Packaging, Moana New Zealand, Wolf Pak, New Zealand Prostitutes Collective, James Liston Hostel, Newton Central Primary School to provide story, song, hospitality, entertainment along with cultural activities and learning of traditional arts of weaving and carving.
This year is the second year that Te Puni Kōkiri, Ministry of Māori Development along with its stakeholders have come together in the spirit of Matariki, the Māori New Year to provide manaakitanga for many whānau who are enduring the cold period of winter.
It is envisaged that the awareness of the kaupapa of Matariki will take place weeks leading up to the hākari at Merge Café to strengthen a strong sense of unity and sharing spirit amongst the community and their most vulnerable whānau.