Otago Community Trust was delighted to support Blessed Box in our final grants round in December last year. A $8,000 grant was awarded to support the newly established charity with the development of the care packages for mothers with new babies in the Clutha District.

Blessed Box are a group of Mothers who saw a need in the South Otago district for greater support of Mothers during the postpartum period.

All Mothers find this period challenging in some way. A Mother is also more at risk for experiencing new onset of a mental illness in the first year after birth than any other time of her life. It's a big period of adjustment whether you are a first time mother or you are welcoming additional children. 

In acknowledgment of this challenge, a dedicated and wonderful group of Mothers are now distributing "curated" food boxes to new mothers in Clutha in 2021. The food boxes distributed all contain a prepared family meal, cupcakes and a breastfeeding/ sleep deprivation snack pack for a Mother with a new baby - all free of charge.

The first cooking session went extremely well for the volunteers in early February. The Blessed Box team were overwhelmed by the kind generosity of 17 volunteers for the very first cook-up at Tokomairiro High School’s food technology rooms. 

Meals were prepared for the 15 new mums all referred to Blessed Box. Produce was kindly donated by helpful people and businesses across the District. If you would like to learn more and get involved with helping Blessed Box, click on the links below. 

Get Involved: https://blessedbox.co.nz/getinvolved/

Do you know an expectant mother in the Clutha District?

Bless a Mother: https://blessedbox.co.nz/bless-a-mother/