KiwiHarvest delivers more than a million meals to Kiwis

KiwiHarvest delivers more than a million meals to Kiwis in need

Auckland food rescue group KiwiHarvest has now delivered more than one million meals to needy New Zealanders.

Since March 2015, more than 350 tonnes of food intended for the tip have been saved and redirected to charities and communities reaching out to Kiwis in hardship across Auckland.

KiwiHarvest founder and chief executive Deborah Manning says with only two refrigerated vans, KiwiHarvest delivers 20,000 kilograms of food each month to more than a 115 Auckland charities and community groups.

“If you look at what is being put back into the community and the economy, the implications are significant. There is a huge surplus of good food that is now going to people who need it and not filling up our landfills, costing businesses to get rid of, and contributing to the concerning level of wastage in our society.”

As food is a significantly resource-intensive industry, the one million milestone means the resources used to grow and distribute it, including water, human labour and oil for transportation, also do not go to waste. In a tip, the organic waste would emit methane while decomposing, known to be twenty times more harmful than carbon dioxide.

KiwiHarvest is supported by 99 generous food donors, numerous local and national businesses and founding supporter the Goodman Foundation.

A not-for-profit, KiwiHarvest collects quality surplus fresh food from supermarkets, wholesalers, manufacturers, growers, cafes and caterers and delivers it free of charge to Auckland charities, to be shared with people in need.

KiwiHarvest was spawned by the success of Dunedin’s food rescue charity FoodShare, founded by Deborah Manning in 2012. Following its huge success and increasing support from brands and businesses that wanted to help, the Auckland counterpart was launched.

Its headquarters in Auckland are made from repurposed shipping containers, true to its philosophy of sustainable food and living.

ENDS

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