Our story

In 2015, The Salvation Army, Countdown and Lucid teamed up to design a self-sustaining, online direct-donation e-commerce platform. The Foodbank Project was created which gave people across New Zealand a way to donate much needed food and grocery items to The Salvation Army’s foodbanks.

The Foodbank Project concept was created by Galen King, the founder of Lucid, who began working on it as a passion project in the evenings on his couch. The project has now developed into a fully functioning online shop for anyone to donate groceries as easily as if they were shopping online for their own food.

Now, over six years later, thanks to the generous support of our donors and the hard work of our foodbank teams, The Foodbank Project has expanded to 40+ Salvation Army foodbanks around New Zealand being able to access regular food donations.

Read the full story in our Journal section of how The Foodbank Project began and the vision we have for the future.

Our why

Every week we see thousands of Kiwis come through the doors of The Salvation Army with their own unique story, looking for help and hope. The mission of The Salvation Army is to care for people, transform lives and reform society, the Foodbank Project has grown into a key way we carry out this mission in a practical way.

At The Salvation Army we’re working collaboratively to address the root causes of food insecurity and financial hardship. Our aim is to provide mana-enhancing practices for Kiwis experiencing poverty related hunger. You can read all about the collaborative work being done by many organisations across New Zealand here.

Food parcels are the first step to receiving support through The Salvation Army’s wrap-around services that transform lives. Our food parcels give people a hand up when they need it the most, and we want everyone who comes through our doors to feel supported and dignified, no matter their situation or background.