Making Christmas brighter for school children & their families
Since 2014, Nourish Trust has been committed to spreading sparkle at Christmas by providing nourishing food hampers to families in need across the Wellington region
Our journey began with a simple idea: to ease some pressure for families doing it tough at Christmas.
What started as a small, heartfelt initiative has grown into a significant community effort, delivering thousands of hampers to those who need it most.
Our kaupapa
At Nourish Trust, our mission is simple but powerful: to show we care and support families doing it tough by providing them with a hamper of nourishing food.
We partner with our local primary schools and ask them to identify families who could benefit from a hamper of food at Christmas, ensuring every hamper reaches those who need it most.
Over the years, we’ve raised over $950,000 and distributed over 6,300 hampers, bringing sparkle to many families in our community.
“The hamper came at the right time. We had a 4-week-old baby, and my husband was on ACC, so there was limited income into our household. I felt very blessed to have received a hamper, my other three children were over the moon. Thank you, the hamper helped us to get through the rush and during Christmas. We are very lucky that there are good people out there, who provide for us when we are struggling.”
– whānau feedback
How we work
We work directly with primary schools across Wellington, including the Hutt Valley, Porirua, Wellington City, Kāpiti, and as far as Ōtaki, to identify families who would benefit from a hamper.
Some schools request one hamper; others may request 100! Each hamper is filled with fresh fruit, vegetables, eggs, pantry staples, and a few treats.
With each hamper worth around $150, our annual fundraising efforts are no small undertaking
We ask for cash donations, rather than donations of food, so we can get the advantage of bulk purchasing power – getting the most we can for families out of your hard-earned money.
The heart and soul of Nourish
Nourish Trust started out its life as the Hutt Hamper Elves, by Claire Turner and a group of friends.
It evolved into Nourish Trust which was established by Claire and Gabrielle Ralph, two local Wellingtonians with a shared vision of helping those in their community who are doing it tough at Christmas. What began as a one-off idea has grown into a decade-long commitment to making a difference. Nourish is all about bringing the community together to help others, and this is the heart and soul of what Nourish is all about.
"Families said thank you so, so much, at a time when things were really tight, the hampers made all the difference."
– school feedback
"The hampers were a real blessing. Families were overwhelmed with gratitude and said the support came at just the right time."
– school feedback
"The relief on parents' faces when they received the hampers was incredible. They were so thankful for the kindness shown."
– school feedback
Facing new challenges
This year, our goal is to raise $304,500 to provide 2,030 hampers.
However, with rising costs and increasing demand, we’re facing a significant challenge. For the first time, we might have to turn some families away if we can't meet our fundraising target. But with your support, we believe we can bridge the gap and provide some Christmas sparkle to the families doing it tough this year.
Website proudly sponsored by Articulate Communications, Designerbloom & Rocketspark
Nourish Trust is a registered charity who provide hampers of nourishing food to families doing it tough across the greater Wellington region at Christmas.
