"You didn't steal from us you stole from hungry families" is the message from a Southland Charity fleeced of donations destined for struggling whānau.
Invercargill St Vincent De Paul's stolen delivery van. Photo: Supplied
A large chest feeezer and all the meat in it was swiped from a St Vincent De Paul property in Invercargill between 6 and 7 July.
And to add insult to injury they also pinched the charity's own van to make off with the donated spoils.
Now police are warning locals to beware of black market meat deals.
St Vincent De Paul volunteer Richard O'Connell told Checkpoint they suspected the thief had previously been a client of the charity.
"To know what was there and to do what they've done, I suspect we've probably taken them to the shed previously.
"I know there's sort of an assumption but how would they be so organised to know what they're doing coming in here," O'Connell said.
He said the person had broken into one of the charity's sheds which was used to store furniture and also housed a chest freezer full of meat.
O'Connell said he assumed it would have taken at least four people to complete the burglary.
While police were notified of the theft immediately, the stolen van was only found a week later at an obscure point of the local estuary.
The freezer was largely filled with mince, which O'Connell said would have gone a long way for struggling families in the area.
The meat that filled the stolen freezer was donated by a local farming family every year, something that made the theft all the more gutting, O'Connell said.
"We've been here for 90 years and these people have stolen this meat not actually depriving us but depriving families that probably needed it during the school holidays when the kids aren't getting lunches."
The Invercargill St Vincent De Paul charity is run entirely by volunteers and while it has some cash flow, the loss of the van is being felt acutely.
The van was insured and although this would not be enough to replace the stolen van, it would be a good start, O'Connell said.
"We've actually higher got a hire van at the moment, and we've got one of our members who has got a van from his work, which we've used also because we are shifting furniture one way or another almost daily."
He said the rising cost of living was hitting local families hard with rising rent, food and petrol prices driving up expenses.
"There's no question about it the cost of living is really affecting people.
"One particular family we were dealing with at the weekend they're only taking the kids to school about two to three days a week because they can't afford it put people in their car."
O'Connell urged locals who noticed a surprising amount of meat in their neighbourhood or amongst friends to be suspicious and contact the Invercargill police.
