Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

An Auckland food bank is asking for help to fill the cupboards after it was emptied by thieves who cut a hole in the wall to gain access to the building.

"The aim [of the food bank] is to help people in the community who are experiencing severe financial hardship ... we rely on donations from food from generous people and organisations and then to find that some scumbags have come along and robbed us, it seems to be pretty diabolical to me."

The thieves got inside by lifting some cladding from the back wall and then ripping a hole in the wall where the heat pump unit had been installed, he said.

Furlong said most of what was taken was frozen meat, biscuits and confectionary.

"If they had come to us and said they needed food, we would have given them food anyway.