KiwiHarvest is a food rescue organisation making a significant impact in the battle against food waste and food insecurity in New Zealand.
Founded in Dunedin in 2012, KiwiHarvest's mission is double-sided – it collects surplus food from supermarkets, restaurants, cafés and other food businesses, and donates it to those in need in the community. By rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted, KiwiHarvest helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with food decomposition in landfills.
The volume of food the charity processes is staggering. Since 2012, KiwiHarvest has rescued more than 11 million kilos of surplus food, which translates to nearly 31 million individual meal equivalents, and close to 30 million kilos of CO₂ averted from landfill.
It's a hugely time-consuming enterprise which relies on an army of around 600 volunteers who help sort, repackage and redistribute the food to 225 social agencies, including Women's Refuge, the Salvation Army and foodbanks.
"There's a lot of pieces that all need to come together to make KiwiHarvest operate at a good level," says CEO Angela Calver. "We couldn't get through the work we do each week without our volunteers."
KiwiSaver and managed fund provider AMP is one of KiwiHarvest's all-important "support partners", giving valuable assistance through their customer promise, "A Little Help", whose mission is to support a thriving community, economy and environment. AMP provides financial as well as hands-on assistance to KiwiHarvest, with the side-benefit that the company then also contributes to sustainability.
AMP facilitates its employees to volunteer with KiwiHarvest – in recent weeks, eight groups of AMP staff have spent a day working with the charity.
"It was a fantastic way to do some hard work and give back to the community," says Andrea Cross, product compliance and operations manager at AMP. "I was really humbled by the work that KiwiHarvest is doing to make life a little easier in our communities."
Adds Angela, "We're immensely grateful for the assistance provided by AMP. Their customer promise is 'A little help' but actually, to us, it's a big help."
Visit AMP to find out more information about their KiwiSaver and managed fund options.
