INDUSTRY SPEAKS
Stuart McKay, manager – Hono
Tātaki, resource efficiency and
innovation
As New Zealand faces
greater economic
uncertainty, there are
more Kiwis in need turning
to foodbanks for support. It is more
important than ever to not let good
food go to waste.
Before the COVID-19 crisis, food
rescue organisations estimated
that 40% of Kiwis experienced low
to moderate food security. Now
foodbanks are reporting huge spikes
in demand – and food rescue groups
are working overtime.
“March and April have been our
busiest months ever. During the
lockdown we’ve had a crew working
seven days a week to keep up,” says
Food Rescue Northland manager,
Pete Nicholas.
Food rescue groups take surplus
food that can’t be sold but is
still safe to eat from across the
supply chain - from manufacturers,
producers, growers, supermarkets,
and restaurants - and redistribute it
so that it reaches those who need it
most.
In New Zealand, an estimated
FOOD RESCUE IS VITAL,
NOW, MORE THAN EVER
157,398 tonnes of edible food is
sent to landfills each year, where
it decomposes without oxygen
and releases methane, a harmful
greenhouse gas. For every tonne of
food disposed of to landfill, almost
0.33 tonnes of CO2-equivalent
greenhouse gases are generated.
The Food Rescue Northland project,
run by One Double Five Whare
Awhina Community House Trust,
recently received funding from the
Ministry for the Environment’s Waste
Minimisation Fund to expand their
food rescue programme to smaller
Northland communities.
The new funding means the trust can
build on its successful Whangareibased
project, which started in 2016
and has diverted 133.7 tonnes of
food from landfill to provide around
95,000 meals to people across the
district.
With the funding, the trust has
established a second warehouse
and distribution centre based
in Moerewa, to service small
communities such as Kawakawa,
Kaikohe, Kaeo, Kerikeri and
surrounding areas in the mid North.
The second warehouse centralises
the collection and distribution of
food to the area, which significantly
reduces travel mileage and is better
for the environment.
Community development worker
and one of the organisers of Food
Rescue Northland Carol Peters
said, “A local farmer recently called
me to say he is so thankful to
be contributing to a food rescue
programme during this tough time.
He is pleased that he could play his
part in putting food on the table for
those in his community who need it
most.”
KiwiHarvest founder Deborah
Manning says her organisation has
recognised the need for an umbrella
service that collects, stores and
distributes surplus bulk food, often
donated by manufacturers, growers
and producers, and then sends it
out to local food rescue operations
and food hubs across the country to
service their communities.
For manufacturers, producers and
growers wanting to get involved in
food rescue get in touch KiwiHarvest
(www.kiwiharvest.org.nz) or find their
local food rescue service on the Love
Food Hate Waste website (www.
lovefoodhatewaste.co.nz).
The Ministry for the Environment’s
Waste Minimisation Fund provides
funding for projects that promote or
achieve waste minimisation, helping
to increase resource efficiency,
reuse, recovery and recycling, and
decrease waste to landfill. For more
information please see www.mfe.
govt.nz.
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 9
/(www.kiwiharvest.org.nz)
/www.mfe
/www.foodtechnology.co.nz
