KiwiHarvest founder Deborah Manning vividly remembers the day she knew her organisation was making a genuine difference.
Ms Manning had established FoodShare in Dunedin in 2012, and it was two years later that she recognised just how meaningful her dream had become.
"We delivered some fresh food and vegetables to a community group in Dunedin. There was a father there, a big man, and he was in tears," Ms Manning said.
"I asked him if he was all right. He was overwhelmed that the next day he would be able to put food in his children’s lunchboxes. It was a powerful feeling that something seemingly so small could mean so much to someone so vulnerable, so life-changing for that father and his children."
The other memory she retains from a decade ago was FoodShare’s first rescue, a 7kg bag of fresh fruit and sandwiches from the Wishbone cafe at Dunedin Hospital. Recognising the need to keep good data, Ms Manning weighed the contents, kept the food in her fridge overnight and the next morning delivered a portion each to a small number of Dunedin support agencies.
The collection of data allowed Ms Manning to demonstrate proof of growth and to tell her story ... and what a story it is.
From that first 7kg pick-up, KiwiHarvest (the entity FoodShare became in 2015 when it spread operations to Auckland, having received multi-year funding from the Goodman Foundation) now rescues between 170 to 200 tonnes of good quality food every month; food that can’t be sold due to oversupply, damaged packaging, cancelled orders, mislabelling or because it’s nearing its best-before date. One day alone last month, KiwiHarvest collected 41 tonnes.
Ms Manning once worked out of the back of her car. The KiwiHarvest network now comprises five branches (two in Auckland and one each in Dunedin, Invercargill and Queenstown), all with their own warehouse and office, and a fleet of 11 vehicles.
More than 10,000 tonnes of food have been rescued since 2012, equating to 28,701,651 meal equivalents delivered. KiwiHarvest works with 270 food donors nationwide and supports 225 recipient charitable organisations.
Today’s growth, and there is more to come, began as a desire to do something that would be a legacy to New Zealand society. While working as a lawyer and doing some teaching, Ms Manning did not know what that would be until it came to her as she was reading the Otago Daily Times one day in 2011. On the same page, one story had investigated dumpster diving in Dunedin and another reported child poverty and food insecurity (lack of access to healthy, nutritious food) and the ongoing effects of that on children’s health, wellbeing and learning.
Ms Manning immediately thought of the value of accessing the food before it went into the dumpster and taking it to agencies that already had systems in place to deliver it to those in need — the likes of Women’s Refuge, night shelters, Presbyterian Support and the Salvation Army. The rest, as they say, is history.
She always knew Food Share would expand around the country but was surprised it happened so quickly. And she also admits the timing was perfect.
"In doing my research, I could see what was happening in Europe and the United States. There was also movement in Australia surrounding food rescue, but no-one here had embraced the concept. There was a lot of talk about the environment as well. It all came together perfectly," she said.
While Ms Manning has now stepped back from the day-to-day running of KiwiHarvest, having appointed a full-time chief executive, she remains as passionate as ever about the organisation. She now spends more time on raising money to ensure the organisation is able to continue to operate efficiently. She also has a vision of doubling its capacity.
KiwiHarvest has a $2 million budget to operate day-to-day, but with poverty rates rising, allied with a lack of access to good quality food for a growing number of people, Ms Manning has plans to double the funding she attracts.
"Food insecurity is about lack of access to food to meet your everyday requirements. Poverty is about lack of housing, education and discrimination which lead to poverty, which then leads to food insecurity.
"We want to double the volume we’re getting and take that to 4 million kg [4000 tonnes] a year by 2025. The food is there but the issue is accessing it," Ms Manning said.
Foodbanks across New Zealand reported an increase of 165% in demand since the Covid pandemic hit three years ago.
Addressing the issues required a multifaceted approach that considered the systemic factors that contributed to food waste, poverty and food insecurity, Ms Manning said.
That could be due to poverty, limited availability of healthy food options in certain areas because of a supply chain breakdown, lack of transportation to grocery stores or less food being produced due to climate issues.
Ms Manning has two sales pitches — one to food suppliers and the other to potential corporate sponsors.
To the suppliers, she outlines the benefits of reducing the amount of food going to the landfill.
"Decomposing food produces methane 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide, trapping heat and leading to global warming. Saving food also means it can get to the community."
When she speaks to corporates, Ms Manning stresses strong communities are made up of businesses that help those who are vulnerable and in need.
"The social benefits are immense.
"The benefits of people eating more healthily include better nutrition and wellbeing, more days at work, fewer days off sick, children learning at school," she said.
Although KiwiHarvest had a number of long-term loyal sponsors, the reception towards funding was not as good as she would like, Ms Manning said.
She wants a third of expenses to be covered by corporate sponsorship, whereas now it sits at 10%.
KiwiHarvest having recently passed that milestone of 10,000 tonnes of food rescued, Ms Manning said the organisation was supplying three meals at a cost of just a dollar. That figure comes through dividing the volume of food rescued in recent years by operating expenses.
"To deliver a meal equivalent at a cost of just 33c is something about which I am extremely proud. We’re helping change people’s lives for 33c per meal.
"That is empowering people to have some control over their lives. And we’re not only supplying fresh food but ingredients as well for their pantry and their fridges," she said.
Although that also creates significant concerns.
Ms Manning admitted the lack of ability to cook and bake or the willingness to learn was an issue. As was the fact that many living below the breadline often did not have well-equipped kitchens or were faced with a choice of turning on their heater or their oven.
To anyone considering assisting KiwiHarvest with food or funds, Ms Manning had a simple message.
"We need to put ourselves in a position to understand those who are food insecure or living in poverty. There needs to be a responsibility to understand that and do something about it."
Fast facts
- 10,045.6tonnes of food has been rescued and distributed by KiwiHarvest since 2012.
- That represents 28,701,651 meal equivalents delivered, preventing 26,620.8tonnes of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere.
- KiwiHarvest works with 270 food donors nationwide and supports 225 recipient charitable organisations.
- For every $1 donated, KiwiHarvest can provide the equivalent of three meals to New Zealanders in need.
- 10% of New Zealanders experience food insecurity.
- 571,000tonnes of food waste go to landfill every year in New Zealand.
- 30-50% of all food produced never reaches the human stomach and 60% of food sent to landfills is still edible.
- In April, food prices in New Zealand were 12.5% up on the same time last year. Wages rose 3.4% over the same period. Fruit and vegetable prices were up 22.5%, with eggs up a whopping 63%.
