Written by Rev’d Dr Robert Kereopa.
On Friday 28th February 2025 the “Kai Taima” Food Mission celebrated its one-year anniversary with a grand menu of donated venison patties, donated eggs, budget baked beans, toast, cereals, pikelets jam and cream, tea, coffee and milo. In addition, luncheon, lettuce and buns are made available for whānau to make their own lunch to take home with them. During the first 12 months we have averaged 23 people for breakfast each morning, and since we started providing a “make your own lunch table” we are averaging 12 lunches per morning.
This food mission was started in St Andrew’s Anglican Church, Taupo, and was dedicated to the memory of a local “saint” Taima Rickit who was a founder of this church.
The food mission was named “Kai Taima”, with the realisation that Kai Taima has a double meaning relating to function on one hand, and to Taima Rickit as a namesake on the other. In the Māori language, “Kai Taima” means “Food Time” which speaks to the function of the Kai Taima food mission, and of course, Taima is also Taima Rickit’s Christian name, thereby intentionally naming the food mission after her. Using Taima’s name in the title of the food mission acknowledges and honours her contribution to the parish as a founder of the church and connects the food mission to the whakapapa and forebears of the parish.
Whakapapa and Manaakitanga:
By naming Kai Taima after a local saint, the new food mission is connected to the whakapapa or genealogy of St Andrew’s Church. Whakapapa for a church includes all the people who have contributed to the life of the parish since its inception. Included in the whakapapa are the founders and forebears of the church, those responsible for establishing and building the church, and the lineage of people who have contributed to the life of the church in ensuing generations. Taima Rickit was a founder of the church, donating the land upon which the church was built in memory of her husband Joseph Rickit, a pioneer of Taupō in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Whakapapa is an integral part of Māori culture and so too is the principle of “manaakitanga”. Manaakitanga is an expression of hospitality, care, showing respect and generosity to others - of being a blessing to your manuhiri or guests. The manaakitanga blessings that Taima Rickit gave to the people of Taupō in her generation by donating land for St Andrew’s Church, has given rise to fruit in each season through the work of those who followed in later generations. As a result of the good fruit that comes from the enabling of a church plant, many blessings have flowed in ensuing generations, Kai Taima included. We could say that the manaakitanga blessings that Taima Rickit gave in her generation is linked through the whakapapa of the church to the blessings that flow from the Kai Taima Food Mission in this current generation.
The Legacy of Taima Rickit in Taupo
Taima and Joseph Rickit had a large family who have contributed in many ways to the development of Taupō through many generations. Without going into detail, there are a couple of contributions worth noting. First, landmark carvings that have been erected in a prominent place in the city as a “Gateway to Lake Taupō”, were donated to the city by Taima’s descendants. The carvings were carved by the renowned Master Carver Tene Waitere, Taima’s brother-in-law. They stand in the city as a proud legacy of Taima Rickit’s whānau. In addition, other carvings by Tene Waitere, carved specifically for a whare tupuna or ancestral house, were donated to the city by the family. These carvings are currently on permanent display at the Taupō Museum - they are tohu or signs of the generosity and manaakitanga of the Rickit whanau.
Another legacy was Taima’s stipulation to the people of the newly built St Andrew’s Church, that the church should be a place of worship for both Māori and Pakeha. At that time in New Zealand, the vision of Māori and Pakeha coming together as one was a significant challenge. Taima was of Māori descent, and her husband a Pakeha. Their bicultural marriage naturally emboldened Taima to challenge the separatist agenda of that generation, in the church and in the nation. The vision of Māori and Pakeha worshipping together stood as a legacy of challenge in ensuing generations, and it still stands as a legacy of challenge in this generation today.
Telling the story of Taima Rickit
We attempt to treat everyone who comes to Kai Taima as important manuhiri or guests, and as our whānau (family). Through the whakapapa of the church, they may also be viewed as the manuhiri, whānau and mokopuna (descendants) of Taima Rickit. Whoever comes to Kai Taima is accepted and treated as whānau, and whenever anyone new comes, the story of Taima Rickit is told. Her story is told something like this:
“Welcome one and all to Kai Taima this morning, and especially to anyone new this morning. I do like to tell any newcomers about this Kai Taima food mission and why we do what we do.
The mission is called Kai Taima, and is named after a founder of this church, Taima Rickit who donated the land for this church. The Rickit whānau is a well-known whānau in Taupō, and Taima is their Tupuna (ancestor). They have made many amazing contributions to this church and to the community of Taupō over the generations. And we are blessed this morning to have two of Taima’s mokopuna (descendants) serving as volunteers in the kitchen.
I think Taima would be pleased to know that we have a wharekai (eating hall) and food mission here in the church on the land she donated. I’m sure she would be pleased this is a place where her mokopuna and whānau could come for a kai when they’re hungry.
When you come here you are part of the Kai Taima whānau, so welcome. We have breakfasts here every Wednesday and Friday from 8 am to 9 am so you are most welcome. And you are welcome to invite others to come along with you.
Now let me say grace for us etc.”
This is a story for everyone, the volunteers, the donors, the congregation, leaders in the community, and of course our whānau in the community who choose to come to sit at Taima’s table.
Establishing a Food Mission in Taupō
Taupō is a city of contrasts, there is a visibly large middle and upper class, as well as a largely invisible underclass. The vision for a food mission emerged as the number of homeless people in the city increased, and as more and more people found themselves close to or below the poverty line. An “Environmental Scan” by Anglican Care Waiapu confirmed the need and provided a model food mission in Hastings called “Kahu Mai” as a mentor for Kai Taima to learn from. Kahu Mai advised us that breakfasts were the most sought-after meals, so we decided to focus on providing breakfasts.
Noting the provision of two other community meals in Taupō at the time, a community dinner provided by Taupō Baptist Church on Monday evenings excluding school holidays, and a community lunch by the Taupō Catholic Church on Tuesdays: it was decided to provide two breakfast offerings on a Wednesday and a Friday to complement the other community meals being offered. Unfortunately, the community lunch on Tuesdays was recently discontinued, so together with the Baptist Church, we are now offering manaakitanga meals on three days of the week in Taupō for those in need in our community, Mondays excluding school holidays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Since the Tuesday lunch was discontinued, Kai Taima has started offering a “make your own lunch” provision on Wednesdays and Fridays so whānau can make their own lunch to take home and eat later.
Venue, Facilitator and Volunteers
The Parish Council of St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Taupō approved the vision for a food mission, and the rear hall was assigned as the venue, and significant funds provided by Waiapu Anglican Social Services to ready the hall for a food mission. A facilitator was chosen to oversee the mission, but shortly before the mission was due to start, the facilitator pulled out due to other commitments. The Vicar of the Parish decided to fill in, gathered volunteers, readied the venue, put together a breakfast menu, got the word out in the community, and so the Kai Taima Food Mission began serving breakfast twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays, beginning Friday the 28th February 2024.
Of special mention are two volunteers who are direct descendants of Taima Rickit. They are the faces of Taima serving in this generation, in fulfilment of the Māori proverb: “ko koutou nga kanohi ora o ratou ma kua wehe atu ra” – you are the faces of those who have gone before.
The Vicar is thankful he made the decision to facilitate the food mission, because he has found the experience personally uplifting and life-giving. It seems that the fruits of Kai Taima are for everyone involved, the parish, the facilitator, the volunteers - and of course for our whānau from our community who come to sit with us at our table.
Community Support
Kai Taima is well supported by the community in different ways. We have excess food from the supermarkets and other providers come our way through different means, which means a good proportion of our food supplies are donated. We also have a lot left over which we give to members of the Kai Taima whanau to take home.
The Taupō Churches Welfare Society founded and run by five Taupō churches including St Andrew’s, donated funds towards care packages for Kai Taima whānau. These were handed out to members of our Kai taima whānau at our Christmas break-up breakfast just before Christmas. PacNSave also gave us a discount on some products included with the Christmas care packages. The Deputy Mayor Kevin Taylor was present to help hand out the care packages on that day.
Waiapu Anglican Social Services (WASSTB) Support
Kai Taima is supported by WASSTB as a “Parish Project”. ACW have provided expertise to research the need in the Taupō community for a food mission, have encouraged our Parish Council to proceed with a food mission project, signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ with our vestry to establish a food mission run by the parish, and provide funding and support to effectively underwrite the costs of the food mission, including costs related to the facilitator.
In addition, WASSTB have provided a van for use by Kai Taima. To date this has been used for care package purchases and dropping off whānau after breakfast when we are able to do so.
Where to next?
The number of whānau who come to Kai Taima has confirmed the need for a food mission. The funding from Waiapu Anglicare Social Services, the number of volunteers helping out in different ways and the support coming from the community has confirmed that we can sustain the mission effort moving forward. It is humbling to know that many of our whānau in the community trust us enough to come and sit at our table.
What is clear from our experience with Kai Taima so far, is that Kai Taima is not just about food. Kai Taima is also about providing a safe, trustworthy space for whanau to come and develop “whanaungatanga” and a sense of “Tatou Tatou” (we and us) together, while encouraging the uplifting of equality, dignity and mana of all our whānau.
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