Two Bay of Plenty food rescue organisations, Chrome Collective and Good Neighbour, have received a boost with a $10,000 donation from Foodstuffs North Island.

Foodstuffs North Island is the 102 year old co-operative behind the North Island’s locally owned and operated New World, PAK’nSAVE and Four Square stores, helping each organisation to continue providing much needed support to the local community.

Willa Hand, Head of Membership Experience for Foodstuffs North Island says the donation is part of the co-operatives ongoing commitment to be HereforNZ, ensuring New Zealanders have access to healthy and affordable food.

“Food rescue organisations are an important partner for us, helping redirect food to the community that would otherwise have gone to landfill,” she says.

“Supporting our local communities is really important and the teams at Chrome Collective and Good Neighbour are doing awesome mahi.

“Our local PAK’nSAVE and New World stores already partner with them, but we wanted to give an extra boost towards the important work they provide to the community.”

Chrome Collective is a Katikati-based charity that offers support and opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Following the challenges of the pandemic, the Chrome Collective team identified a growing need for food support in Katikati, and now run a food rescue to ensure food that might otherwise be thrown away reaches those who need it most.

“Funding has become increasingly hard to access, and this grant from Foodstuffs North Island has come precisely at the right time," Chrome Collective manager, Shelley Robinson.

“This money will go towards our operational costs and will help keep our food rescue running.

“Our organisation serves a dual purpose – every item we rescue makes a difference for families, but it also helps the environment by preventing items going to landfill.

“We’re extremely grateful to Foodstuffs for helping us carry on with this important work.”

Good Neighbour is another local charity and community support organisation in the Bay of Plenty that has expanded into food rescue in recent years.

Through partnerships with local businesses, they collect 2.6 tonnes of food per week, which gets distributed to over 6,500 people who are struggling to put food on the table.

“Food insecurity is one of the biggest issues facing Kiwis in 2024, and we really appreciate the ongoing support of Foodstuffs," says Good Neighbour general manager, Renee Hanna.

“This grant will help us expand our storage capacity, including adding shelving, tables, equipment, and chillers. We are collecting more food than ever and have been struggling with space limitations.

“We’re in a recession and the level of need is only going up so it’s great we’re now able to invest in our operations to ensure we can meet the growing level of demand.”

The support from Foodstuffs North Island and their Here for NZ fund is aimed at reducing food waste and emissions as well as redirecting surplus food for communities in need.

This year, Foodstuffs North Island has provided donations to 14 food rescue organisations, totaling $140,000.

For more information, visit Here for NZ (https://www.foodstuffs.co.nz/here-for-nz)