24 Mar 2022

Food insecurity after floods in Tairawhiti

From Lately, 10:18 pm on 24 March 2022

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The Government's giving the Mayoral Relief Fund a cash injection to support communities hardest hit by severe weather in Tairāwhiti. The Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan says the one hundred seventy-five thousand dollars will support Tairāwhiti to bounce back. Produce growers in the Eastern region ravaged by heavy rain storms this week are warning there'll be slim pickings this weekend for those wanting leafy greens to eat. Severe weather has cut Gisborne off from the rest of the country - heavy flooding and washouts forcing the closure of state highways and other roads.

LeaderBrand is one of the largest growers of produce in the country, it grows spinach, salad leaves, broccoli, lettuce and corn - its CEO Richard Burke joins Karyn from Gisborne. 

Flooding on the Poverty Bay Flats

Photo: Tairāwhiti Civil Defence