N.Z. gives lamb to N.Y. needy

Press, 31 January 1986, Page 2

N.Z. gives lamb to N.Y. needy

NZPA staff correspondent Washington

The New Zealand Lamb Company has given SUSISO,OOO ($285,000) worth of lamb to New York city as food for its homeless and destitute.

The gift of 46,300 kg of frozen lamb has been made through the Mayor of New York, Mr Ed Koch, who heads a special fund for the needy.

The lamb will be distributed throughout the year by New York city welfare and voluntary agencies. It is expected to feed at least 350,000 people. Mr Wayne Rice, president and chief executive of the New Zealand Lamb Company in the United States, said it was the company’s first such gift.

“We believe it is essential for the private sector to reinvest in the community and as a food company with a very nu-

tritious product we can best help by feeding the poor and hungry,” he said.

A press release from Mayor Koch praised the company’s action. He pointed out that New York’s destitute and hungry needed food and shelter throughout the year, not just at Christmas and other special times, and that the New Zealand Lamb Company was in a "leadership role.” Nor has the political impact of the public relations gesture been lost. “We thought because of the A.N.Z.U.S. issue it would be a very positive thing to do,” said Mr Rice. He said he first got the idea after reading an article about the singer, Kenny Rodgers liking lamb, and then linked that with a possible donation to world aid. Then it was decided a

local donation was more appropriate, so they chose the New York Mayor’s fund.

The New Zealand Lamb Company is based in New York.

The meat is already in United States warehouses and Mr Rice will give Mr Koch a warehouse certificate for the meat, allowing the city to draw on it throughout the year. In October, during an unsuccessful fight by antinuclear groups to prevent United States Navy ships home-porting in New York Harbour, Mayor Koch was openly critical of New Zealand’s nuclear armed ships stance. He labelled the policy of the New Zealand Government “disgusting.” “I would hope New York city would never be in a situation where we could be compared to New Zealand,” he said.