I wait for the caravan every week. I wouldn’t survive without it.” Every Sunday in the South Island town of Blenheim, a small team gathers. They load up a caravan with pots of soup, buns and vegetables, then serve anyone who shows up. No forms, no questions—just food, kindness and prayer.
For 18 years, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Caravan, led by Grant and Chrissy Ingersoll, has been on the streets serving those doing it tough. What began as a service to ferry passengers coming into Picton on the delayed ferries has grown into a beacon of hope for the community. “We asked the police where help was needed most,” Grant recalls. “They told us, ‘the streets’. So that’s where we serve.”
Today, the team of 22 volunteers—including youth and teens all from Blenheim Seventh-day Adventist Church—meet every Sunday. In winter, they cook three big pots of soup. In summer, they offer fruit, vegetables and sometimes toys for families. Local businesses pitch in: Pak’n Save donates buns, Sanitarium provides breakfast cereals and a local couple supply honey when they can. People come because they know someone will look them in the eye and care. Grant pauses, recalling the day two boys arrived with dog bowls to collect their soup. “That one still gets me,” he admits quietly.
A recent report from ADRA’s Disaster Ready Churches coordinator captured what happens there: “A particularly moving moment was witnessing Grant pray with many of the people we served. He has such a genuine heart for people and it was inspiring to see his compassion in action. We are truly blessed to have him as an ADRA Champion, being the hands and feet of Jesus in his community.” Those being served speak just as powerfully: “I’ve been coming for two years. I get food for me and my daughter—I wouldn’t be here without them.
“WINZ (Work and Income NZ) fails, government fails. I’ve got nowhere else to go but this caravan always turns up.”
Grant laughs when asked how they manage to keep going. “You know, bears go to sleep in the winter—we don’t.”
Some Sundays, someone will ask how much it costs. “I tell them, ‘Nothing, man. God gives it to us to give to you.’”
When the caravan needed repairs, the team prayed. A man Grant had once studied the Bible with a builder by trade—offered to fix it at a low cost. Donations followed. “The tap’s never run dry,” he says.
Week after week, through rain, wind or sunshine, the ADRA
Caravan reminds Blenheim that the church is still here and still cares. This small team doesn’t preach with microphones or stages. They preach through ladles of soup and loaves of bread, through listening ears and quiet prayers. Because in a world where many have given up on church, they’ve found that love still speaks loudest when it’s served hot.
