Full Bellies

My Name is Kate Pauling and I am the founder of a grass roots charity called “Full Bellies”. The purpose of my charity is to simply fill the bellies of children in Christchurch who are identified by their Schools pastoral care teams as “at risk”.

“To do something is better than to do nothing”

That’s where we come in, nothing quite sat right in terms of reaching children in need and where I could make an impact on their life, so hence the birth of “Full Bellies”. We are small, we are local and we take extreme pride in the nutritional food we are delivering. Food bags are currently dropped into primary schools first thing in the morning, so children can enjoy morning tea, shared fruit break and lunch all while keeping their dignity and respect, and alleviating the stress of “Where will I get my food from today?”

Many schools in New Zealand receive funding for lunches, which is fantastic, but many schools do not reach the decile criteria for this funding. They also have many families who are in positions of significant need. Full Bellies is providing support for these families in schools that are currently not funded. Our point of difference is the volume of food going into these children, covering a full day of nutrition which is making a difference to their learning.

Our Branding of the Full Bellies feelings is to represent the end goal, we are not just about food but about helping children become confident, brave, happy and healthy.