AMI team member Rae Guard took up the opportunity in June to deliver fresh, nutritious meals direct to people’s homes through Habitat for Humanity’s meal delivery service, run by Freeman Court.
The Te Awamutu resident, who enjoys interacting with people from all walks of life, thought it would be great to get out and have a chat while dropping off the ready-made meals to people in her community.
AMI employees are given one day off a year to do volunteer work, “which I think is absolutely brilliant,” Rae said. “I’ve always liked to volunteer and give back. I think it’s really important to give back to the community.
“And it makes you feel good!”
She found the meal delivery experience really rewarding and says it’s comforting to know the service is there for anyone who might be unable to cook themselves a hot meal.
“It wasn’t really defined to one demographic, which I thought was neat.”
The meal delivery service is available five days a week – Monday to Friday – for people within the Te Awamutu area, with a freshly cooked healthy meal delivered around lunchtime for just $10.50 per meal. Freeman Court currently prepares and delivers over 50 meals a day.
While on her delivery round, Rae was struck by the sense of community among some of the people she encountered – noting one lady who checked to make sure her neighbour was receiving his meal, too.
“I thought that’s kind of nice – it was nice seeing someone look out for someone else.”
AMI works in partnership with Habitat to create safe and healthy homes together.