Free food at Go Eco ‘for everyone’
A tonne of fresh red apples, rescued from certain decomposition, flew out the door of Go Eco in Frankton yesterday, and there’s plenty more to come.
The next batch looks to be that beloved summer staple, tomatoes.
And if you were under the impression they’re reserved for households doing it tough as the recession and high interest rates bite, you’d be wrong.
They’re free to everyone in the community, operations manager Kelli Pike told the
The front of the store was filled with fruit boxes yesterday, and a constant stream of happy pickers was coming through the door.
Pike pointed out that anyone walking past the store could get them and there were no judgments or barriers.
“We're a food rescue organisation, not a food bank.”
The apples were also made available at community centres across Hamilton, such as the Western Community Centre, Pike said.
“We are not here to give out food parcels. The food we rescue is from an environment perspective, but the really good benefit from that is that it helps to feed people as well.
“And we know that the cost of living and food pricing is an economical factor for many and there is a need for people to access free food.”
The cornucopia of free Hawke’s Bay produce arrived care of the New Zealand Food Network, an organisation born during Covid-19 to distribute large volumes of food to the likes of food rescue organisations.
Pike said they were in regular contact with the network.
Marketing and communications manager Madi Walter said the surplus produce was usually made up of fruit or vegetables that were graded out as either too big or too small, or had unsightly patches.
The rescue team also received about 900kg of tomatoes in February and 750kg in January this year. Last spring, Pike said they were given “tens of thousands of kilos” of apples.
“Our role really is to rescue and redistribute it, but without necessarily making sure those people are needy, we really don't like that.”
Pike called it the “biggest misunderstanding” of their work.
“This is rescued food, they’re doing us a favour because otherwise it goes to landfill.”
Hamilton food rescue regularly gets pallet loads of items from the network, Pike said.
“A lot of people come in and they might take a box but they're actually taking them to deliver to other people as well.
“So it's not like they just take them home and stash them, people are super-generous and they get them out to friends and family and that's what we want – spread it on a little bit further.”