Aotearoa’s largest food rescue organisation, KiwiHarvest, celebrated the milestone of rescuing and redistributing 13 million kilograms of food to Kiwis in need with a rescued lunch earlier this week. The total volume of food is the equivalent of over 29 million meals, bringing much-needed relief to vulnerable communities nationwide and significantly reducing harmful carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere.

The 13 Million Thanks event saw guests treated to a rescued lunch prepared and served by renowned KiwiHarvest Collective chefs, Michael Meredith (Mr Morris, Merediths, Metita), and Brent Martin (Park Hyatt, Onemata).

The lunch consisted of a hearty soup created with high quality rescued kumara, carrots and onions, muffins created using rescued bread, and a grazing table of rescued meats, cheeses and crackers. Brent and Michael served the meals out of a food truck, highlighting how rescued food can be transformed into delicious and nutritious meals.

On designing the menu, Brent Martin said, “We wanted to showcase the bounty of rescued food by highlighting ingredients like kumara, carrots, onions, and bread. They all have a second life in these dishes and remind us of how important it is to make the most of what we have.”

Michael Meredith added, “As chefs, we see every day the waste that accumulates in the kitchen. Through today’s rescued lunch, we wanted to showcase the possibilities of surplus and rescued food.”

“We’re really proud to work with KiwiHarvest. They contribute to a vital cause that not only addresses hunger in Aotearoa but also helps protect the environment. It's a meaningful way to give back, and together we're making a positive impact in the community.”

Attendees included KiwiHarvest’s dedicated network of donors (270), recipients (220), volunteers, and staff who came together at the East Tamaki warehouse to hear from Founder, Deborah Manning, and Chief Executive, Angela Calver, about KiwiHarvest’s mahi over the past 12 years, and massive growth in last year alone.

Angela Calver said, “We ended the last financial year delivering 34% more food to our recipient groups compared to the previous, providing them with approximately $18 million (retail value) of food. This is against the odds as our funding has been significantly reduced and the demand for support in our most vulnerable communities has reached critical levels.”

“We desperately need Government to recognise the social, environmental and financial value that comes from food rescue – because as a country, we can’t afford to see these food insecurity levels continue to rise.”

Recent research from Hello Fresh found that an estimated 9% of Kiwi household’s weekly food shops goes to waste (equating to $1,326 worth of food wasted per household per year) - demonstrating the ongoing loss of not only funds and good food, but also the harmful environmental impacts of food waste. To mitigate the harmful gases that are released from food decomposing in landfill, KiwiHarvest’s rescue operations have avoided almost 35 million KGs of CO2-eq from reaching our atmosphere.

KiwiHarvest’s operations are made possible through strong partnerships with key donors who share the same mission of reducing food waste and food insecurity. Moving speeches from James Spense, CEO of Goodman, Brett Morris, Head of Marketing at Rabobank, Gordon Harcourt, Community Programmes Lead and PR Manager at Woolworths and Claudia Baptista Fernandes, Managing Director of Hello Fresh reiterated this nationwide collaborative effort.

The celebration also saw the unveiling of generous operational donations to help KiwiHarvest continue their mahi. As well as trucks for their operations in Dunedin, Queenstown (funded by Impact 100 Wakatipu) and Invercargill (funded by Murihiku Rūnaka Rio Tinto), the Auckland branch has 2 new trucks with thanks to the Hugo Charitable Trust and the Kelliher Charitable Trust and the loan of a brand new JAC electric truck, a move that will not only increase their food delivery capacity but align with their commitment to reducing their carbon footprint, and 50 new Chep bins which have the capacity to store 200 tonnes more fresh produce.

The event closed with a powerful message around the urgent need for food rescue and support organisations right now. KiwiHarvest remains steadfast in its mission to provide kai for those in need, but they need everyone to step up to the plate.

For more information about how to support KiwiHarvest, please visit https://www.kiwiharvest.org.nz/

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