The Face Foundation for Inclusion is organizing this Friday its annual major collection at the entrances of nine supermarkets in Tahiti. The dry goods and hygiene products collected will then be redistributed to families in difficulty as the year-end holidays approach. A solidarity initiative conducted with the food bank ‘Ete Auturu, which helps 70 households each month. “In total, more than 800 families are thus supported each year.”, explains Nahema Temarii, who has become the networks manager at Face.
Two months before Christmas, solidarity to help the most vulnerable enjoy better year-end holidays is already taking shape. This Friday, the Face Foundation for Inclusion will be at the entrances of nine Tahitian supermarkets for its major annual food drive.
From 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Mahina, Pirae, Punaauia, Faa’a, Paea and Papara, residents are invited to drop off dry non-perishable foods as well as essential hygiene products for babies, children and adults. Young civic-service volunteers will be mobilized in the stores to collect these donations, which will then be sorted by the ‘Ete Auturu’ food bank in Titioro before being redistributed to families in difficulty.
This collection is part of the foundation’s actions carried out throughout the year. “Every month since 2024, the food bank has been fighting against food insecurity, too prevalent among us,” explains Nahema Temarii, the former minister who returned as networks manager at Face. “Each month, we buy staples and hygiene products and run collections at the exits of certain stores, which allows us to help 70 families across seven communities of Tahiti and Moorea through our relay points. In total, more than 800 families are thus supported each year.”
After the supermarket collection, companies take over in November
These families in need are identified through relay associations in the neighborhoods and social workers in the municipalities. A system that allows us to “act upstream of the food aid chain, and sometimes in emergency situations,” says Nahema Temarii. It also makes it possible to better know each household and to tailor the distributed kits according to the number of people and the ages of the children present.
After the supermarket collections on Friday, the solidarity mobilization will continue from November 2 to 20 within the companies and administrations that are members of Club Face, where employees will be invited to participate in the collection directly at their workplace. The goal: to unite the forces of the general public, businesses and their employees to strengthen food distributions and help make the year-end holidays warmer for those in need.
