FOOD PARCELS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 March 1943, Page 4

FOOD PARCELS

FOR PRISONERS OF WAR FINE SERVICE BUILT UP IN NEW ZEALAND. CENTRAL PACKING DEPOT. None of the patriotic services has a greater humanitarian appeal than those carried out for the National Patriotic Fund Board by the Joint Council of the Order of St. John and the New Zealand Red Cross Society for the sick and wounded and for our prisoners of war. There are over 8000 New Zealand prisoners of war and to cater for them, as well as to serve their next-of-kin, an efficient organisation has been built up in this country which is doing work that deserves to be widely known. Food parcels for New Zealand's prisoners of war are packed each week; this service alone represents a heavy annual expenditure. Until the time arrived when the parcels could go forward from this country in a steady flow, arrangements were made with the Canadian Red Cross to send the parcels on New Zealand’s behalf. The despatch of the parcels from New Zealand began at the end of 1941. At the start the rate was 3000 parcels weekly. About the middle of 1942 this was stepped up to 6000 a week, and from the beginning of this year it was increased to 8000 standard 111 b. parcels a week. The parcels are forwarded in cases, each containing eight parcels, and the contents are as follow: Tin of chesdale cheese, tin of honey (or golden syrup as a substitute), tin of jam, tin of condensed milk, coffee and milk or malted milk, tin of butter, two tins of assorted meats, approximately a halfpound each of sugar and dried peas (with dried mint), packet of sultanas. 2 ounces of tea, tin of specially prepared chocolate the same as for the emergency ration. The packing is done on the chain system. Up to January of this year 283,000 standard food parcels had been packed and shipped from New Zealand. The whole of the packing of these parcels is carried cut in a special depot in Wellington. Five days a week, every week, teams of approximately 32 ladies each pack 1600 parcels in about four hours. In addition, small teams of voluntary workers assist at night time in the packing of the dried peas and sugar into cardboard cartons. All told, some 1800 ladies give their services voluntarily for the food packing. CENSORING ACTIVITIES. Another important service is the censoring and the repacking of parcels next-of-kin are permitted to send quarterly. For this purpose depots have been established at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin. These are faithfully staffed by voluntary workers, whose duties consist of receiving opening, checking, and censoring the parcels sent in to ensure that they conform to requirements. After the parcels and the addresses have been examined, they are carefully re-packed and in cloth or calico coverings and returned to the post offices for transmission overseas. Between them the four depots are handling over 32,000 personally addressed quarterly next-of-kin parcels a year. An enormous amount of additional work is involved in the sending out of special prisoner-of-war coupons to all next-of-kin each quarter, as well as the appropriate Red Cross label and the many and constantly changing instruction sheets for the guidance of next-of-kin in the making up of their parcels. Careful records have to be kept of the contents of every parcel and the dates recorded when the parcels leave the various depots. When parcels are lacking in some item and are not up to the weight limit of lllbs., the packers add knitted woollen comforts and other articles. If there are any next-of-kin who through economic circumstances are not in a position to send parcels regularly or who cannot afford a satisfactory parcel, the Joint Council, where necessary, takes over the full financial responsibility of sending complete parcels so as to ensure that the prisoner does not suffer. In addition the various branches througnout New Zealand have assisted next-of-kin with their parcels by providing clothing and knitted garments. When it is known that the next-of-kin are not in a position to include chocolate in a prisoner’s parcel, this is included at the packing centres, provided there is room for’ it in the parcel. For next-of-kin in general arrangements have been made for them to obtain approximately 81bs of chocolate each quarter.