By Six
The start of every great success story is a tale of woe.
Danielle LeGallais (Cook Island Māori) started Sunday Blessings community kai, while transient herself.
Once she struggled to feed her family. Now she is feeding her community.
Danielle says a series of poor decisions led to life on the margins and eventually a stint in jail.
“The absolute shame, the paranoia and devastation I felt for letting my family down. Because we demonise poor people. The ridicule you go through, you start to believe it. You want to break out of it but you have all these psychological barriers,” says Danielle. “We were transient and once spent 12 weeks in a camper van.”
Son, James, says Mum tried to turn living in backpackers and campsite into a fun adventure to try to keep him distracted from their hardship.
They would play a game called Ninjas, James recounts.
Danielle says inside she felt the shame of failing her family.
Education offered an escape from poverty and despair, although Danielle’s first attempts to study were thwarted by circumstances.
“I tried to study four times but finances were a problem. I couldn’t afford food. I couldn’t afford a home,” says Danielle. “The first time was in Wellington. My power was being constantly cut off. I’d be running between lectures and home to beg the power company to leave the power on.”
However, Danielle persevered and graduated from Auckland University of Technology with a law degree and is now studying to be admitted to the bar.
To practise law in New Zealand, it is necessary first to obtain a law degree, and then undergo further training to be admitted to the High Court. This procedure is called admission to the bar.
While studying Danielle learned that food is an affirmed human right under the United Nations International Declaration of Human Rights.
“Food waste and food insecurity shouldn’t exist. We are all about structural change. I also believe our community can rise up against this social issue while we wait for laws to catch up,” says Danielle.
Danielle collects donations from bakeries, food banks and Countdown, St Johns.
Ashlee Rutherford, the Countdown Manager, says it’s all perfectly good stuff. But because of light bruising, best-before dates, or defects, it can’t be sold and would otherwise be dumped.
“Countdown is on target to be the first zero food waste to landfill supermarket,” explains Ashlee.
Sunday Blessing continues to feed ever more bellies and has grown as many organisations including schools have joined the cause.
Auckland Central MP, Chlöe Swarbrick says grassroots community-led initiatives like Sunday Blessings provide critical social services, especially essential during disasters such as the recent pandemic.
“Politics can seem so detached from society. When you connect with the community you see things are changing. Politics is about power and resources and if we can invert that and help people in our community, realise the power that they hold in sheer numbers then we can change everything,” Chlöe says.
