The Student Volunteer Army (SVA) is announcing the reactivation of its Grocery Delivery Service in partnership with New World. The service is making sure that older people and those most vulnerable to the virus have access to groceries and other household essentials.

SVA is also stepping forward to support the healthcare system during surge demand periods. The organisation has volunteers ready to support vaccination and testing clinics across the country.

In Auckland, SVA and New World completed more than 3,000 grocery deliveries during the 2021 COVID lockdown and in Canterbury, it teamed up with the Canterbury District Health Board to provide volunteers for over 1,000 shifts, freeing up medical professionals to vaccinate more people more efficiently.

SVA is now ready to roll out this support where it is needed to enable more efficient delivery of vaccinations, testing, and treatment.

“Two years ago, we didn’t expect to become a grocery delivery organisation or be supporting the health system as we are, but that’s what SVA does,” says Founder and CEO Sam Johnson. “When normal services are overwhelmed by extraordinary circumstances, SVA mobilises the community to make sure that nobody gets left behind. People want to help, and thanks to the support of our donors and volunteers we’re able to do that.”

Morgan McCann Head of New World, Foodstuffs North Island says they’re delighted to be partnering with SVA again, keeping our commitment we made to be Here for NZ, in particular supporting older community members and those most vulnerable to the virus.

“We’re really proud to be a part of offering contactless delivery support with the awesome SVA. New World’s job in this next phase of the pandemic is the same it’s always been, keeping our teams and customers safe, while making sure New Zealanders have access to the food and groceries they need. Partnering up with the SVA is so reassuring, the team and their army of incredible volunteers have become a part of the fabric of our COVID preparedness and responses over the last couple of years. We’re a proven combination that provides confidence we can continue to get contactless deliveries to those kiwis who need it in pretty much every community in NZ during the upcoming Omicron wave.”

Morgan McCann Head of New World, Foodstuffs North Island says they’re delighted to be partnering with SVA again, keeping our commitment we made to be Here for NZ, in particular supporting older community members and those most vulnerable to the virus.

“We’re really proud to be a part of offering contactless delivery support with the awesome SVA. New World’s job in this next phase of the pandemic is the same it’s always been, keeping our teams and customers safe, while making sure New Zealanders have access to the food and groceries they need. Partnering up with the SVA is so reassuring, the team and their army of incredible volunteers have become a part of the fabric of our COVID preparedness and responses over the last couple of years. We’re a proven combination that provides confidence we can continue to get contactless deliveries to those Kiwis who need it in pretty much every community in NZ during the upcoming Omicron wave.”

As part of the relationship, New World is providing its expertise in product ranging and cashflow optimisation to ensure that the SVA ordering tool works seamlessly and the process is easy for the volunteers doing the work in stores and the vulnerable communities using the service.

“By utilising our well-established payment systems and technical infrastructure to really simplify the process for SVA, they can help more people, more efficiently.”

SVA is always looking to recruit volunteers of all ages around every region of New Zealand. If you would like to volunteer to support its COVID-19 response or in any other capacity please sign up via the SVA App or at sva.org.nz

Need help? If you’re looking for support from volunteers please reach out to SVA. The Ministry of Social Development is helping SVA to support food banks, marae and other community organisations. Requests for support can be made via the SVA website.

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