Bellyful Cooks Up Support for Local Families in Toi Ohomai Kitchen

Home cooks and volunteers recently whisked up a storm at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology’s Windermere campus. The institute opened the doors of its commercial training kitchen to Bellyful Tauranga, enabling the volunteer run charity to prepare hundreds of nutritious meals for local families in need.

Bellyful is a nationwide volunteer led charity that provides free, home cooked meals to whānau with babies or young children who are experiencing stress, illness, isolation, bereavement, or limited support networks. The organisation supports communities across Aotearoa by connecting volunteers with families who need a little extra help during challenging times.

Co branch coordinator Sarah Elliott says access to Toi Ohomai’s purpose built training kitchen made an extraordinary difference to their latest cook up.

“We were able to cook 82 lasagne, 49 bolognese and 90 macaroni cheese meals for our charity, an incredible outcome that simply would not have been possible without access to your space.”

With Bellyful unable to use its usual BayPark kitchen, the temporary halt threatened to pause meal deliveries for a month, a gap that would have had a significant impact on local families.

“While we’re unable to use our usual kitchen at BayPark, Toi Ohomai’s generosity has meant we didn’t have to pause deliveries. Without access to their kitchen we would have had to stop delivering meals for at least another month, which would have been incredibly difficult for the families we support.”

Sarah says the volunteers felt immediately at home in the space.

“The kitchen was fantastic to work in. It’s such a well-designed, practical environment and our volunteers genuinely enjoyed the experience of cooking there. Everything flowed beautifully and it allowed us to be efficient and focused on what matters most , getting meals into freezers for families who need them.”

By supporting Bellyful’s mahi, Toi Ohomai has helped ensure families across Tauranga will have nourishing meals ready when they are needed most.

“Because of Toi Ohomai’s support, many households across our community will have nourishing meals exactly when they need them most. We are truly grateful, as are the families who may never know the full story behind how their meals came to be.”

Hosting Bellyful on campus not only made a practical difference but also strengthened ties with one of the region’s most compassionate volunteer networks.

Bellyful’s kaupapa is grounded in community support and connection, volunteers cook and deliver thousands of meals nationwide, offering emotional and practical support to families navigating tough times. By sharing resources and providing access to our facilities, Toi Ohomai is proud to play a role in supporting this important mahi and reinforcing our commitment to uplifting the wider Bay of Plenty community.