Taranaki Retreat has raised funds to acquire a new mobile food service on the road, with the “Waimanaaki” food truck opening on Monday 10 November outside St Mary’s (Taranaki Cathedral) on Vivian Street. A karakia to open the next chapter of services is scheduled for 9am.
The truck is designed to take free hot kai and drinks to people doing it tough across Taranaki, rather than serving from a single CBD base. The change follows the retreat’s planned exit from the Metro Plaza, where its Waimanako Koha Café has operated, ahead of the building’s demolition as part of NPDC’s Huatoki corridor redevelopment.
Waimanako’s support services shift to the Tasman Club at 35 Octavius Place as a new Support Hub. Taranaki Retreat says the hub will focus on connection, peer listening and programmes, while the provision of free meals moves to the Waimanaaki truck so the team can work “away from the challenges of the CBD” and cover a wider range of locations, including New Plymouth and Waitara.
Retailers have voiced concerns in recent months about rough sleeping and antisocial behaviour in the city centre, and authorities have convened multi-agency meetings to respond. Taking kai directly to where people are living or gathering is intended to reduce pressure on the CBD while improving access to support.
The shift away from a fixed CBD food service mirrors the wider service redesign prompted by the Metro Plaza closure. Taranaki Retreat says the mobile model will let staff and volunteers coordinate with other food-rescue and outreach groups, meet rough sleepers where they are, and keep the focus on mana-enhancing support rather than queues outside a single venue.
