Locals lap up Stone Soup event

Stone Soup is held in Lorenzdale Park, in an area with a high concentration of our homes, every couple of months each year.

It is based on a folk story in which hungry strangers convince the people of a town to each contribute a small amount of food for their soup for sharing with everyone.

The idea came from a former Tenancy Manager, Kirsty, who pitched it to Te Ora Hou(external link), a national network of faith-based Maori youth and community development organisations, who help facilitate the event.

The mobile library was a great success with the children

Each event is held on a Saturday and involves a shared lunch with the community, usually a hangi. The first hangi for the event was prepared in the back yard of a vacant Kāinga Ora home across from the park. More recently, the local branch of the Rapid Relief Team(external link), a global charitable organisation, has provided burgers at the events, and this alternates with hangi provided by Te Ora Hou through donations from local businesses and the community.

Tenancy Manager Denise has been attending Stone Soup since it started in 2007.

“It’s a great day out for the whole family, and it’s really brought the community closer together,” Denise said.

Denise usually helps set up and pack down the event, as well as anything in between. More recently, she has helped plan the event. For Saturday’s event, she got Bunnings on board to donate $100 worth of seeds.

About 200 people attended the last Stone Soup for 2019 – including one special visitor.

“We got Santa to come to our event. Every child who attended got a gift from the big guy in red.”

Other activities included games, a bouncy castle and a mobile library. The day ended with a community kōrero, an opportunity for anyone to raise or discuss a topic of interest.