"We love giving back to the community."

Image

The long galley kitchen was buzzing as TOMI, REX, ANAHID, and GEORGE, overseen by chef ANDY GRIEVE, washed and chopped vegetables while prepping for today’s menu of chickpea curry and chicken casserole. The team’s energy and enthusiasm were palpable, as was the camaraderie, friendship, and teamwork in evidence. Quick Kai, the brainchild of Newtown Community Centre Manager Eryn Gribble and previous co-worker Emily Sheffield, started seven years ago to provide purposeful engagement, life skills development and work for people living with intellectual disabilities, enabling them to contribute to the wider community and provide nutritious low-cost meals to members of that local community.

Since then, Quick Kai has provided long-term voluntary employment for over twelve clients living with intellectual disabilities, with two going on to paid employment in 
commercial kitchens thanks to their experience and development with Quick Kai. The concept’s success culminated with the current team taking out the Winning Team Award at Volunteer Wellington’s recent Mahi Aroha Awards for 2025. The pride this engendered for the team was so very special; they were still on a big high some two weeks later. “We were shocked and so happy when we were announced as the winners,” said team member Anahid.

The team meets weekly on Thursday from 9am to 1pm and creates two dishes, producing about 30–35 meals each time. Produce and ingredients are donated by organizations such as Kaibosh, KaiCycle, and Wellington City Mission, as well as members of the community. Meals are sold for $2.00 to cover overheads such as the use of the Newtown Community Centre’s fridge, freezer, and dishwasher, as well as purchased ingredients. The team gets to sample their efforts before doing the dishes and leaving the kitchen immaculate for other users. Meals are primarily purchased by Community Centre users; spares are frozen and available for emergency use by the Centre as required for clients in need. Any surplus dollars contribute to bus fares for the Quick Kai team and an end-of-year team-building activity such as ten-pin bowling. 

Andy, an excellent cook and previous vocational support work colleague of Eryn, was roped in to run Quick Kai with just one day’s notice, five years ago! The position is one of several voluntary positions held by Andy, whose pride in the program and team is obvious. 

George, Anahid, Rex, and Tommy are all very committed to their Thursday work. When asked what they like about the programme, the team members all said with beaming smiles, “giving back to the community.” “I feel happy and excited to be here, surrounded by happy smiling people,” said Anahid, who five years ago came to ‘give it a go’ at Quick Kai and now assists with menu planning and takes the lead if chef Andy is away. “We cook simple curry dishes, pasta, and prepare vegetables. It can be tiring but worth it.”