Sikhs to hand out thousands of free food parcels to needy
About 1100 food parcels were being prepared and those needing them are being asked to collect them from the Takanini Sikh Gurdwara every Friday and Monday between 4 and 6pm. But a woman, who contacted the Herald about the exercise, said this "again shows the double standards" of the Government in allowing some to hand out food, but classifying greengrocers and butchers as non-essential services during the lockdown. Counties Manukau Police Inspector Jared Pirret said police were working closely with the temple around providing advice and education on the current alert level 4 requirements. "We have since cited the temple's classification as an essential social service provider," Pirret said. "Through our community networks, Counties Manukau Police are aware of a number of families in need of assistance. "As one of our partners, we have asked the temple whether they would be able to assist some of those families with food parcels." Pirret acknowledged the temple's willingness to assist in the request, but said police would not be participating in any deliveries. Pirret said any group wanting to undertake work in this space "should seek advice from relevant authorities around the level 4 requirements" before doing it. Supreme Sikh Council spokesman Daljit Singh said between 25 and 40 volunteers were helping to pack and distribute the food parcels. "We have had many families contacting us, some have not been eating properly for days," he said. "A solo mum with three young kids who hasn't eaten called us one evening, and we sent someone to drop off food to her at 9pm that night." He said as the Covid-19 lockdown goes on, an increasing number of people were struggling to get food on the table. Volunteers also prepared up to 50 food parcels daily to drop off at homes of people who are either in self-isolation or did not have access to supermarkets. "We don't ask any questions and it is open to all ethnicities and nationalities, if they need the food parcels, we will make sure they get them," Singh said. The entire exercise is contactless, those collecting food at the temple are asked to drive in one gate, open their boot for a volunteer to load the parcel and then drive out through another gate. The food parcels contain bread, milk, fresh fruits and vegetables. Auckland Council has also set up a food distribution centre at Spark Arena after receiving 3000 requests for help since announcing last week that it would be providing emergency food parcels on behalf of the Government. Anyone who is unable to go to the supermarket, or is suffering financial hardship as a result of the lockdown, is eligible for the food parcels, which are being couriered to people's homes. It is expected about 5000 parcels a week will be sent out once demand stabilises. Last Monday, hundreds of food parcels were also handed out to Indian nationals stuck in the country by the Indian Consulate in Auckland. Under a government-managed exit plan, thousands of foreigners stranded in New Zealand under the Covid-19 lockdown started leaving on Friday - but Indians have been unable to do so because of India's international flights ban.
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Poll: Should drivers retake the theory test every 10 years?
Drivers get where they need to go, but sometimes it seems that we are all abiding by different road rules (for example, the varying ways drivers indicate around a roundabout).
Do you think drivers should be required to take a quick driving theory test every 10 years?
Vote in the poll and share any road rules that you've seen bent! 😱
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49.5% Yes
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48.6% No
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1.9% Other - I'll share below
Here's Thursday's thinker!
I am lighter than air, but a hundred people cannot lift me. What am I?
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Why make picking up reserved library books harder? What do you think? Challenge: Write the last stanza for the first poem attached below.
Once books are reserved in Auckland Libraries books, when they are available no longer go alphabetically by customer but instead go into a Holds pickup shelf number based presumably somehow on when each book needs to be picked up by.
I had two books reserved that arrived on two different days in the Blockhouse Bay Library and hence each book has a different shelf number. Hard to find unless you knew the shelf number in the notification email. Even if you knew the shelf number I found myself three books by the same author on the two shelf numbers.
More recently yesterday a book I reserved was on a different shelf number than was specified in my notification email (see image below).
Sadly it is clear from library staff that a numerical system for reserves is here to stay.
I suggest that so that all books for each person has the same shelf number, the shelf number becomes the last digit of a person's library card (0-9).
Within each shelf number a book is found under the day the reserve arrives in the library (01 to 31, hopefully the same date the email is sent).
Since a customer appears to have 10 days to pick up a book, ten days of the month would appear to be required at any time (for each digit 0-9).
Once there are 10 days used the next day's reserves could go back at the beginning of the shelf number after any remaining books not collected (hopefully none) are removed (along with the old day number and the new day number (01 to 31) inserted) after the last day available and future days' books remaining moved forward to make room.
Each day number (01-31) would appear once for each shelf number (0-9) before the first book on that day- perhaps cover an old withdrawn book with paper with each day number on the spine?
When a reserved book arrives in the library the last digit of the library card could be placed on a piece of paper in the book to be removed when it is put on the shelf, to be recycled the next day.
What do you think?
See the image below and page 3 below for a letter appearing in the Western Leader on 9 September:
www.neighbourly.co.nz...
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