KiwiHarvest Queenstown distributed almost 201,500kg of rescued food in the financial year ending March, which is the equivalent of more than 447,000 meals.

That’s up from 197,169kg in the previous financial year, and include donations to almost 1000 households across Queenstown, Wānaka, Alexandra and the wider Central Lakes, almost half of which are considered to be in urgent need of food support, while nationally, the organisation distributed more than 4 million kilograms of food in a single financial year for the first time.

And thanks to a $200,000 donation from the Hugo Charitable Trust, that impact is about to grow even larger.

The donation will be used by KiwiHarvest to strengthen its operations across the country and enable it to redistribute about $2 million of surplus food to communities over the coming year.

KiwiHarvest chief executive Angela Calver says across New Zealand, they support hundreds of charities every week  which provide essential community services, such as transitional housing, refugee support and youth development.

By supplying quality rescued food for free, KiwiHarvest enables those charities to direct more of their limited resources towards the other services they provide.

“The impact of rescued food reaches much further than the meals it provides.

“Again and again, we hear that food is often the bridge that allows deeper support and connection to happen.

“It opens doors, reduces stress and creates opportunities for people to engage with services that can genuinely change lives,” she said.

While the not-for-profit delivered 32% more food into communities over the past year, there’s still more surplus food available to rescue, while demand from recipient community organisations continues to rise, Calver says, some by as much as 50% year-on-year.

“This partnership with the Hugo Charitable Trust means a huge amount to us,” she says.

“We’re in a real period of growth, with more food donors coming on board, more recipient community organisations relying on us, and more surplus food moving through our network than ever before.

“As more New Zealand families face financial pressure, we’re seeing demand for food support continue to grow.

“Funding like this helps us stay ahead of that demand, so no good food goes to waste while people in our communities are going without.”

Calver says Hugo’s donation will help them rescue and redistribute almost 300,000kg of surplus food, providing more than 650,000 meals, and prevent almost 900,000kg of CO₂-equivalent emissions.

Hugo Trustee Kathryn Roberts says the trust’s proud to continue supporting an organisation delivering meaningful outcomes for both people and the environment.

“Supporting organisations that turn surplus food into practical help for New Zealanders is exactly the kind of impact we want the Hugo Charitable Trust to have.

“KiwiHarvest has built a proven model that delivers real benefits for people and the environment, and we’re proud to continue backing an organisation creating lasting change for communities across NZ.”

The donation marks the next stage in the Hugo Charitable Trust’s partnership with KiwiHarvest, building on its previous support to expand the food rescue network by donating a truck.
tracey.roxburgh@scene.co.nz