We’re lucky to have two well-established food rescue organisations running in the region – Nourished for Nil in Hastings and Napier, and The Food Basket in Waipukurau.
Both were founded in 2017 and receive food donations from local supermarkets, restaurants, cafés, and producers which they distribute for free to the community. Combined, they have rescued thousands of tonnes of food.
This not only gets usable food onto peoples’ tables but reduces greenhouse gas emissions as organic waste creates methane when it breaks down in landfill.
While the underlying focus is simply to prevent usable food going to landfill, the organisations have helped many people and families experiencing challenging times to access nutritious groceries.
Nourished for Nil has taken their work a few steps further, having merged with the Hastings and Napier food banks in 2022. After Cyclone Gabrielle their depots played a crucial role, receiving and boxing up food parcels for distribution to the hardest hit communities.
This year also saw them open a social supermarket. “Although, people can only access the store by agency referral at this stage, we’re very proud to be able to provide additional support on top of our food depots. It is a significant step towards reducing food waste and improving access to nourishing food for local communities,” says Nourished by Nil founder, Christina McBeth.
Theirs is an example of sustainability having a dual impact – environmental and social.
Nourished for Nil | The Food Basket
Read the full article: Home-grown sustainability work in the Bay | First published by BayBuzz