Nelson Environment Centre’s Kai Rescue programme was donated a massive 21 tonnes of food in March, which is enough to supply about 10,000 meals for people in need.
Coordinator Luisa Zuppardi-Smith says it was the third big month in a row for the not-for-profit organisation that aims to minimise food waste and feed people. In January, it clocked up 18 tonnes, then 16 tonnes in February before jumping to 21.667 tonnes in March. In the previous March it received 15 tonnes of food to distribute.
“Our role in the community is expanding – more people are being supported by the food we are collecting. And if there are more donations, we can reach out to more organisations.”
She says the programme is actively seeking more donors and not just those with surplus food or food that would otherwise go to waste, but also donations in a charitable capacity. That means donating a range of quality food that lifts the nutritional value and more of it to feed an increasing number of people who need it.
Kai Rescue partners with more than 50 organisations locally that distribute the food to people who need it and she says they are reporting an increased need for food support from a wider range of people.
“Many are facing really complex needs like housing insecurity, work insecurity, health – it isn’t one issue. But there’s also an increasing number of families with two people working and children, who aren’t able to meet the cost of living.”
She says the closing of the free food service, Kai with Love, in January, resulted in more people seeking food from other organisations but, even before its closure, the need in the community was increasing.
In a couple of weeks, Kai Rescue will move its base from Victory Square to the old heritage church on Haven Road as Nelson Environment Centre owns the section beside it, giving it space to place shipping containers to store food and a chiller unit.
A large quantity of food can come in at once, such as a tonne of frozen meat from New Zealand Food Network that it acquired through its Pitch In campaign.
Much of the food is from regular suppliers, including JS Ewers’ market garden on the Waimea Plains that provides fresh vegetables three times a week to Kai Rescue. Fresh produce also comes from local supermarkets.
Like so many not-for-profit organisations, operations manager Bobby Furby says funding is becoming harder and volunteers fewer.
He says a big chunk of Kai Rescue’s funding comes from MSD (Ministry of Social Development) and after their last funding package this coming June, they do not know whether the new government will continue funding it, or how much it might fund.
Many organisations grew from funding handed out during the Covid-19 pandemic and he says some may not survive if they do not get funding from MSD.
“If you can’t get the funding, you can’t run your organisation.”
One of the reasons Kai Rescue weighs all the donated food is to collect data that shows how much it is putting into the community and he says that is necessary for funding.
