Food rescue organisation FoodShare is delivering the equivalent of 30,000 meals a month to 20 social agencies in Dunedin as demand continues to grow rapidly.
Manager Pip Wood said demand was ''really quite substantial'', with three groups added to their list of recipients in the last few weeks.
FoodShare rescues unwanted food from big suppliers like Countdown and Couplands as well as many smaller bakeries and food outlets, including the Farmers Market.
Ms Wood said they rescued more than 11 tonnes of food in September and another 10 tonnes in October and had the resources and demand to take more if they could get it.
She said all the food was good quality and none of it went to waste.
''Our major donor is Countdown and they are really good to us ... There is nothing left at the end of the day.
''We would like the other supermarkets on board. They can't sell it after a certain point but we can then get it to people that can use it and utilise it and give it a second life.''
She said retailers did not have to worry about FoodShare undermining their market because the food was only distributed to those who could not afford to buy it.
Smaller groups in Northeast Valley and Port Chalmers had started receiving food from FoodShare and one school had recently set up its own foodbank to supply 20 of its families.
''It is wonderful they are coming and picking up food every week ... and they make up food parcels and the recipients come and get them,'' she said.
She said many social agencies would shut down over Christmas so FoodShare would run a reduced service because they only picked up what they could distribute.
The Dunedin City Council has provided FoodShare with rooms.
- By Dan Hutchinson
