EDITOR'S NOTE
SAVE THE FOOD, SAVE… PLENTY
AIP MEMBERS PACK 2175KGS OF POTATOES
AND CARROTS FOR KIWIHARVEST
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 3
It’s heart-warming to see innovations such as the
one that can be found in the article below, with
KiwiHarvest reducing the negative impacts of
food waste on our environment by redistributing
excess food; and it really does help to create
lasting positive social change through giving to
those that need it most.
Us Kiwis are far better than many operating in
other countries, but we can all do our bit to better
the ante.
Amy Keller, co-founder and chief executive
of United States company PurePlus+ told
600 delegates at the Grow 2019: Boma NZ
Agri Summit in Christchurch that 40% of what
was grown globally becomes food waste, with
fruit and vegetables making up 50%.
“If we waste less, we feed more. Food waste is a
market inefficiency, that is not found in any other
industry."
She said that a reducing food waste can have
some amazing impacts that include feeding the
population (expected to boom by 2050) and
cutting greenhouse emissions.
There’s many reasons that food was wasted and
these include bad weather, poor roads, poor
packaging, poor food processing process and
distribution problems as well as economic and
cultural issues.
Greg Robertson
Publisher
As a part of the Australian Institute of
Packaging’s commitment to fighting
food waste two teams of Members
headed to KiwiHarvest in Auckland
last month to help pack 2175 kgs of
potatoes and carrots into about 145x 15kg bags.
The bags KiwiHarvest use are the malt bags from
boutique breweries which saves them from going
to waste as well.
The recipients who receive the potatoes and carrots
are all over Auckland from Orewa in the North
to Pukekohe in the South. The completed bags
are given to foodbanks to distribute to individual
families, used for community meals such as Everybody
Eats, charities like Shine Women’s Refuge,
schools.
So, who is KiwiHarvest?
KiwiHarvest are New Zealand’s perishable food
rescuers; collecting good food before it goes to
waste and distributing it to those in need to nourish
the wider community. Every month they deliver
over 60,000 kgs of food to 220 charities nationally.
Their work is already changing the fact that
103,000 tonnes of food is thrown away by New
Zealand industry every year. KiwiHarvest is here to
create lasting positive change so that good food
does not go to waste. Moreover, those that need
nourishment will receive it. KiwiHarvest reduces the
negative impacts of food waste on our environment
by redistributing excess food; helping to
create lasting positive social change by nourishing
those in need.
So how can AIP Members and
industry colleagues help Kiwi-
Harvest?
Join AIP KiwiHarvest Volunteer Program; either
as an individual, with your staff and colleagues, or
even with your families. The AIP will work directly
with KiwiHarvest to book in some days where our
volunteers can visit the Ellerslie Warehouse and
help pick and pack fresh vegetables into sacks.
The day will start with a formal introduction on how
KiwiHarvest works and information on their charity
partners. The AIP will be offering more volunteer
days throughout the year for NZ industry.
https://kiwiharvest.org.nz/
BREAKING NEWS
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