HARVEST OF HOPE
What began as a one-person effort from the back of Deborah Manning’s car has become an inspirational nationwide food rescue service delivering help to people and families in need.
Deborah Manning is the founder of KiwiHarvest, bringing the food rescue concept to life in Dunedin in 2012. Manning said the idea formed after she had read a couple of articles in her local newspaper, one about dumpster diving and another about food insecurity.
“These articles had a real impact on me, and I saw the opportunity (and challenge) to launch an enterprise that could use an environmental problem to solve a social problem,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to make a real, positive difference in my community and leave the world a better place for future generations, so
I took the plunge and left my job as a lawyer to start KiwiHarvest (previously FoodShare). From the very beginning, my core mission was to tackle the dual problems of food waste and food insecurity, and I’m proud that this original vision still governs KiwiHarvest today.”
The issue of food waste is a pressing challenge in New Zealand, with more than 103,000 tonnes of food waste per year: the equivalent of $1.17 billion worth of food. Of the food going to landfill, 60 per cent is edible. “We’ve grown exponentially over the last nine years – and over the last 18 months in particular,” says Manning. “The increasing demand for food and the consistent level of food surplus (and donations) has certainly kept us on our toes.
“Since launching in Dunedin, we have expanded to Auckland, Queenstown and the North Shore, with each of our branches continuing to grow in size and in reach. We are also planning on opening another South Island branch. This continuous growth has enabled KiwiHarvest to support and feed more families and individuals in need than ever before.”
KiwiHarvest works with food businesses, including supermarkets, wholesalers, producers, cafés, restaurants and hotels to rescue the good food that they are not able to sell – whether that is because of oversupply, damaged packaging, cancelled orders, mislabelling, or because the food is nearing its best before date or end of life. This food is then delivered to people who need it. “The current focus for KiwiHarvest is to continue getting food to communities in need, all the while increasing our reach and capacity,” says Manning. “Nearly one in five Kiwis have experienced low to moderate food security, and our ultimate goal is to ensure that every man, woman and child has access to enough good, nutritious food each and every day.”
A New Zealand Health survey released by the Ministry of Health in 2019 reported that an increasing number of New Zealand households are finding it harder to afford enough nutritious food for themselves and their families, with 33 per cent of New Zealanders experiencing moderate food insecurity. “The pandemic has heightened pre-existing levels of food deprivation,” says Manning.
“Ensuring everyone has access to food has been an ongoing challenge, and many charities providing food support have struggled to keep up with rising demand.”
COVID-19 and the resulting lockdowns have certainly been a challenge for KiwiHarvest. Supermarkets are a major source of donated surplus food, so panic buying and compromised food supply chains caused serious issues. “We were lucky to receive food from other generous donors – such as food service and hospitality businesses affected by changes in Alert Levels, and food businesses that stepped up and donated food to support those in times of need – but it wasn’t easy,” says Manning.
This year KiwiHarvest has had to ramp up its services to meet growing levels of food insecurity and extend its reach into new areas (such as Wanaka, Oamaru and Cromwell) that have been particularly hard hit.
“Beyond getting food into communities in need, during the August lockdown in 2020, we were proud to partner with our sister organisation, the New Zealand Food Network, to assist with the distribution of more than one million face masks (provided by Ministry of Social Development),” says Manning.
With KiwiHarvest’s ongoing mission to help Aotearoa’s population become 100 per cent food secure, Manning says its role “will continue to be what is always has been – collecting good food before it goes to waste and getting it to those in need. In future, we will continue to expand our operations, so that we can reach as many vulnerable individuals and families as possible.” Beyond this, Manning would like to grow their education programme.
“Our goal is to teach individuals, organisations and communities about reducing the waste which occurs at every stage of the food chain – building respect for the food we buy, and the time, effort and resources that go into its production. Food really is a precious resource, for the way it can nourish our communities.”
Manning says KiwiHarvest’s work is now more relevant than ever as it continues to care for, and build, more resilient communities. “KiwiHarvest was started as a one-person effort out of the back of my car. I’m incredibly proud to see the ongoing positive impact our team’s collective efforts have had for our communities. It goes without saying that KiwiHarvest wouldn’t be where it is today without the dedication of our team, our generous partners and donors, and our recipient agencies – registered charities and community groups that includes welfare groups, marae, city missions, local Salvation Army groups and schools – working on the frontline.
“While we have got a long way to go in solving the dual problems of food waste and food insecurity, I’m proud of the progress we have made so far – it’s so humbling and rewarding to have been on this journey.”
“FOOD REALLY IS A PRECIOUS RESOURCE, FOR THE WAY IT CAN NOURISH COMMUNITIES.” DEBORAH MANNING