Around three quarters of the people seeking welfare support in the Queenstown Lakes district are migrant workers and foreign nationals.
The Emergency Operations Centre led by the Queenstown Lakes District Council has already received more than 5000 welfare requests since the lockdown began.
More than $380,000 in food vouchers has already been handed out to residents and foreign nationals.
Local welfare manager Simon Battrick says charities would usually expect to hand out roughly 10 to 15 food parcels a week.
He told RNZ reporter Tess Brunton the demand is unlike anything they've ever dealt with.
