A Great Start to 2023

Cater Plus founder and chief executive Paul Hodge was named a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2023 New Year’s Honours List for services to hospitality. The Cater Plus Foundation is a testament to his commitment to helping staff reach their full potential, including during times of stress and hardship…

In 2012, on a typically busy weekday morning, Cater Plus chief executive Paul Hodge took a call from a staff member employed as a chef at Cambridge’s Resthaven, the Waikato town’s largest aged care facility. Cater Plus prepares all meals fresh onsite at Resthaven. The woman said she needed to resign immediately. She was reluctant to say more. When Paul dug further, she admitted with embarrassment that her car had broken down and she couldn’t afford to repair it, which meant she had no means of getting to work. The woman had worked for Cater Plus for two years.

Paul regarded her as an excellent employee and knew it would have taken courage to admit why she had to resign. “I can lend you the money,” he said.

At the time, he says, he didn’t think much beyond solving an immediate problem. If the woman had resigned, he would have had to drive from Cater Plus Support Office in Hamilton to Cambridge to cover for her, taking him away from running the business.

“Honestly, it was a no brainer. She had a $750 problem. I could solve it. It was a win-win.” He offered her an interest-free loan. The car was repaired, and the woman returned to her job.” She was shocked when I offered her the money. She didn’t expect that was an option. It was very foreign to her. The only other option was to borrow money from a loan shark. She would rather have given up her job than do that.”

For Paul, it was the beginning of something much larger. “I started thinking there may be many others like her. People who are talented, hard-working and reliable. I wanted to retain and show we value them.

I’ve always wanted to make a difference. It made him think what else Cater Plus could do.
The result was the Cater Plus Foundation, formed with a philanthropic purpose to help staff in times of need and stress.

The money is held in a Charitable Trust and used to fund a range of activities that benefit staff, including interest-free loans. The loans may be to: buy a car, fix a hot water cylinder, travel overseas to a funeral, pay medical bills, school fees, or rent arrears, and are generally paid back over a year.

Craighead School. Left: Carolyn Sanderson
Right: Selina Wilson

“We are not a bank,” Paul says. “We are not making a profit. The Foundation is there for the purpose of helping people when there is a need. Everyone’s needs are different.”

Budgeting is part of the arrangement. “Some people may have other things coming out of their pay, so we set up repayments with that in mind. We are changing our staff’s understanding of loans. For some, going to a community-based loan shark was the only option they had. I was concerned that they’ll be charged significant interest with often unrealistic repayment terms which causes a cycle of debt and stress. The Foundation is designed to provide a better option.” Trust is the basis of the arrangement. “In 10 years, we have had only two people who have left with outstanding debt.”

Cater Saver: “Our focus in 2023 is to encourage more staff to save”

Like many New Zealanders, a lot of Cater Plus staff operate on tight budgets. So, five years ago, Cater Saver was established. Staff can choose to have an amount deducted from their wages, to encourage a culture of saving. For the first $1000 saved, they receive $100 from the Foundation. Around $200,000 is paid out annually. Paul said, “Our goal for 2023 is to achieve $250,000 in staff savings.”

Sponsorships and Culinary Fare

Since 2004, Wintec in partnership with Cater Plus has hosted the Waikato Culinary Fare. The Fare is designed to showcase the talents of emerging hospitality stars. Paul, as a founding member, believes the opportunity to compete in competition supports the development of valuable skills, provides experience, and showcases talent which creates future pathways into the industry. The Waikato Culinary Fare has grown to be the largest regional competition of its type in New Zealand.

Left to right: Ahmad Azemad, Matt Shuker (coach) and Megan Brennan.
Category: Mystery Box

The Foundation also supports charities, especially lesser-known organisations like Sands (Stillbirth and Neo-natal Death Society) and Melville Women’s Rugby Club. The women’s rugby club sponsorship came out of a conversation when Paul learned the women had to practice in a carpark because the rugby grounds did not have women’s changing rooms.

For three years the Foundation has also hosted a golf day from which proceeds are donated to Sands, in 2022 the Foundation also sponsored a cupcake sale which raised both awareness and funds for Sands.

Sara Lane from Sands at the Golf Tournament with Cater Plus cupcakes.

Friday Night Meals

When Covid began to impact businesses in New Zealand, the Foundation brainstormed ideas to help out. Originally, Cater Plus had thought of ways to help New Zealanders who were struggling. They were already helping families in South Auckland through Otara Kai Kitchen but they realised there was a need closer to home. “We had 20 staff in Auckland without work,” says Paul. “Through the Cater Plus Foundation we funded them to cook food for our own people. Every Friday night, everyone was provided with enough food for their family. If someone had six family members, they could book those meals and pick them up from a central location.”

Cater Plus staff preparing and receiving Friday Night Meals.

What staff say about the foundation

Tufa Schuster: “There is no judgment. Everyone is treated equally.”

Dimitry and Tufa Schuster.

Tufa Schuster has worked for Cater Plus for 13 years. The Samoan-born mother of three is a site manager/chef in Auckland and is the Cultural Ambassador for Cater Plus. The first time she applied for a loan from the Foundation was when her car broke down. The next time, it was to help her son pay for his first car after he left school. “He had saved $7000, but the car he wanted was $15,500. I wasn’t sure it (the application) would be granted because he wasn’t a staff member, but Paul didn’t hesitate. The money was lent to me on the understanding my son would pay me back. The debt was repaid within a year.”

The Foundation also helped at other times. Tufa says there is no judgement by the company. “Everyone is treated equally.” The system is based on goodwill and the understanding that everyone experiences times of stress. “The Foundation has helped so many Pacific Island families, some of whom are forced to go to loan sharks. It is hugely beneficial, and it shows how much the company cares for its staff.”

Brooke Hubbard “You feel like part of a family.”

Brooke, Pusaumupo and their family.

As a child, Brooke Hubbard used to help her mother wash dishes when she was employed at Cater Plus. About 10 years ago, Brooke followed in her footsteps. She is now the site manager/Chef at Palmerston North’s Countdown. The 32-year-old mother of five has been blown away by the support she has been offered by the Cater Plus Foundation at times when she has needed it most. Like when she needed a car, or when she had to have expensive dental work and when cost of living and school expenses put pressure on the family budget.

When her youngest child, Hope, now aged one, was born with a medical condition that needed several operations, the Foundation stepped in to raise funds through “Steptember” when money for every step taken by Cater Plus staff was given to the family. A Foundation loan helped the family pay for glasses for another child. For Brooke and her husband Pusaumupo, a freelance jewellery-maker, the help was amazing. “I have worked for other companies where you are just a number. Here, it feels like you are part of a family.”

Crystal Tuki: “I was completely blown away.”

Crystal Tuki serving John Campbell.

Crystal Tuki is a catering assistant at Mount Albert Grammar School in Auckland. The mother of one has worked for the company for seven years and is used to moving between sites to help out when there are staff shortages, particularly during Covid. Like others, she has called on the Foundation for help more than once. When her car had too much rust to pass a warrant, the company bought the car from her, and loaned her funds to buy another. When she was temporarily living in a sleepout and the door came off in a storm, another loan helped. But there was also a time when the company gifted her four new tyres for her vehicle. “I was completely blown away,” she says.

Wade Davies: “It just takes the stress off your shoulders.”

Wade Davies.

Wade Davies knows many of Cater Plus’ operations. Since he began work with the company in 2019, the 23-year-old catering assistant has helped out in sites in Auckland, Wellington, and Northland, travelling where the need is greatest, including when he had to cross different border levels during Covid. At the time of the interview he was heading back up north to help out during a staff shortage. “I really love the variety,” he says. Before he joined the company, he studied fine dining at North Tec, graduating as a chef. He is completing further studies part-time. When he got into financial stress in the early part of his work with Cater Plus, the Foundation approved a loan. He is very grateful. “It just takes the stress and over-thinking off your shoulders.”