“Doing stuff with people for people,” is what sparks joy for Jo Hay.

The Herbert-based sheep and beef farmer, and mother of three, has just joined the board of directors for Meat the Need, a relatively new charity she is “stoked” to be a part of.

Meat the Need was founded in 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdown, by two farmers, Siobhan O’Malley and Wayne Langford, who were wanting to help feed families struggling to put food on the table.

“Farmers have a product and grow a product and they can see a need for families and people out there that can’t, for whatever reason, access good quality protein, and this was a way for them to work on that issue - to solve that,” Jo said.

New Zealand farmers are coming on board to donate stock or milk to the charity, which then supplies more than 100 food banks and city missions around the country.

“So whether they choose to donate a cull cow, whether they choose to donate a lamb or a mutton, maybe they choose to donate milk, it’s not a whole lot to give but it makes a big difference to somebody else.”

Jo, who already has her plate quite full as a North Otago Irrigation Company (NOIC) board member, a North Otago Sustainable Land Management Trust (Noslam) steering committee member, as part of the Beef and Lamb Farming Council, and as founder of rural womens’ group Lipgloss and Gumboots, said Meat the Need was a cause she was willing to stretch herself that bit further for. 

“The whole charity just spins my wheels. It’s something I’m really passionate about, and so to be able to have an opportunity to be on the board is just something that really excites me,” she said. 

“The times right now are tough for everybody, but - me personally, as a farmer - the one thing I don’t have to worry about is being able to access food.

“I can access food myself, we grow our own food. Other people don’t necessarily have that control over their circumstances. 

“I don’t think anybody who receives food parcels wants to - it’s a big deal to ask for help, no matter who you are - and it’s a simple way for us to help.”

Having thriving communities is something Jo sees as incredibly important, and ensuring people feel a sense of belonging is vital to creating that, she said. 

“I think if we can all look after each other a little bit better, then those feelings of belonging come, and then we get people who are going to contribute to society.”

With her teaching background, she has seen first-hand how much need there is for children to be able to access good-quality, nutritious food to help them learn and grow.

Meat the Need has eight board members dotted around the country, and while it is off to a great start, the impetus now is on building on that, and future-proofing it, she said.

“You want to make sure that this charity continues to do what it does, and potentially can give more.”

While some North Otago farmers already donate, there is always room for more. In the three years since the charity began there has been a huge change in the cost of living, and the need is only growing, Jo said.

“So while we have some amazing farmers that donate product, we would never say no to more.”

But Meat the Need is not just for farmers. There is now a way for members of the public to donate, and they can choose to contribute financially, pay for a virtual animal (sheep or cow), or help with running costs. One lamb provides 96 meals.

People going hungry in New Zealand is something that does not sit well with Jo, or other farmers.

“I guess for me, as a farmer, it’s something that sits there - how does this look to other people, because we don’t send all our product overseas, but the bulk of it goes overseas, but we have a situation in New Zealand where there’s food poverty and we produce so much food. There shouldn’t be.

“It’s not the farmers that want that. We’ve all got businesses to run, but I mean wouldn’t it be great if we could have a food system where nobody was left behind, and this is a way that farmers can help address that,” she said.

“We’ve all got some parts to play.”