They have been feeding hungry kids in Waikato schools for four years and now a gang want to provide nourishment for kids in need across the country.

The Tribal Huks from Ngaruawahia is a gang.

Dubbed the 'sandwich gang', their president Jamie Pink said they fill a social need that wasn't being catered for adequately- hungry kids in schools.

BRUCE MERCER/fairfax media Jamie Pink and the "Tribal Huks" have started a "feeding the kids" trust to feed more kids in need -- they have kick started it with $20000.

So far the gang feed children in 31 schools from Hamilton to Rangiriri. Gang members and associates make and deliver sandwiches to Waikato schools five days a week.

"Over 400 we reach a day; not enough ... There are so many hungry kids in the country, on a huge scale, and it isn't getting any better."

This week Pink and the gang started 'Kai 4 the future foundation' and have kick-started it with a sum of $20,000.

The foundation is set up to collect money to purchase food for hungry children across the country.

Pink knows the stigma that comes with being in a gang but wants the foundation to work.

For transparency and legitimacy he has brought on board "good people" to be signatories for the foundation's accounts.

"Some are community leaders, some run community houses; all these people are good people," Pink says.

"The money isn't going through the gang and we can show that."

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Ngaruawahia Community House manager Anne Ramsay, is one of those that has been elected as a signatory.

Ramsay says that although she has apprehensions about Pink's gang ties- his heart and his commitment to the children are true.

"I really support the work that they do," Ramsay said.

"I probably have a few concerns around the perception of his gang involvement and hopefully that won't cloud people's thinking about it. The plan is to set up a proper trust and continue to provide sandwiches in schools, as he has been doing already, and extend that to more schools."

The gang have been offered a lot of money since the Waikato Times broke the story of their good deeds in October 2014, but they have refused it.

"A lot of people have tried to give money online and personally too, but we've said no. We've taken food though and we always said we'd take food and give it to the kids. But here's a way they can give money and know that it's going to be watched over by the good people to feed the kids."

The $20,000 foundation kickstart from the gang came from a membership tithing of a "few hundred."

Pink guarantees the money was made and given legitimately.

"We put the hat around, we've been saving for a little bit for this. When you have that many members you can get that money together."

Pink says there is about 300 members and associates of the huks.

But he wants more to give and is challenging every every New Zealander.

"We are calling it the five dollar challenge. If 50,000 people are paying five dollars a week ... seems like a big call, but that's enough to put food on every table, for every child in the country and every school."

"There are two and a half thousand schools and that's 300,000 children we'll be able to reach," Pink said.

"Even someone on the dole can afford $5 bucks. What are they putting that $5 towards? The future of the country."

Another question Pink is always asked is 'is this part of a recruitment drive' for the gang.

"No way. It's about the children, not about us," Pink said.

"We don't want to be just reaching the same areas- that's good- but there's definitely a lot of kids we need to reach out there. Give them a full belly eh."

Pink said it's to easy to blame the Government for not intervening.

"It has been the same numbers [children in need] since 2001. That's four administrations in Parliament. Should they do something? Yeah of course they should, but we can't keep going on about that ... maybe it's the people that have to do it," Pink said.

But Hamilton East MP David Bennett said the Government does provide food in schools which he says is very successful.

Bennett did not know the gang was supplying 31 schools with sandwiches and would not be drawn on whether he supported the work the huks do, but said the schools' need to think about their image.

"Any good work is good for the community, but the nature of the organisation doing it may have some other consequences. Schools and the communities need to take that into account," Bennett said.

"It's an image issue, whether the school wishes to have them involved within that process then that's up to the school."

Pink, however, said regardless of Government involvement- the people had the power to change the lives of children and hoped by giving them a full belly, all children would be on a level playing field at school.

"We have a beautiful country, but just in this area- we need a lot of work. It's a problem a lot of us have known about for a very long time. It can be fixed- it's us that have to do it. We the people."

A website detailing the foundation's accounts and how to donate will be up and running within the next few days.