Celebrating Manaakitanga: 2024 Highlights
As 2024 draws to a close, we reflect on the incredible mahi of the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance (AFRA) community. It’s a year that hasn’t been without its challenges, as demand for food rescue has surged. Our members have stepped up to meet this demand, over 12 months rescuing 7.4 million kilograms of surplus food, and distributing 9.8 million kilograms to communities across Aotearoa. That’s the equivalent to providing around 28 million meals and represents over $73 million worth of food in retail value.
Behind these impressive numbers are incredible teams, putting in the mahi every day to serve their communities. Here are some highlights shared with us from around our community this year.
Coming Together for World Homeless Day in Tāmaki Makaurau
Fair Food, KiwiHarvest, Auckland City Mission, Sunday Blessings and The Salvation Army, joined a network of community groups to serve their friends and neighbours on World Homeless Day. This manaakitanga included free haircuts, clean clothing, and kai. Shout out to Woolworths New Zealand, who generously donated grocery vouchers. Fair Food volunteers shared around 200 care packs of muffins, chips, and bananas alongside tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. The KiwiHarvest team brought their food truck to hand out Rescued Kitchen snacks alongside Nando’s. The Auckland City Street Choir came together to provide entertainment during lunch. One woman reminded the crowd, “We are homeless, not hopeless.”
“This theme of respect was echoed in many of the conversations alongside kai. People were able to relax and share their hobbies, backgrounds, and interests instead of just their struggles,” said Michelle Blau, Fair Food’s General Manager. “Events like World Homeless Day are an opportunity for people to be seen, heard, and cared for as our neighbours instead of being dismissed or diminished because of their current circumstances.”
A surge in Volunteers in Tairāwhiti
For the team at Gizzy Kai Rescue, one of the standout highlights has been its dedicated and growing team of volunteers.
“Gizzy Kai Rescue has increased volunteer numbers and roles, in part, to keep up with the demand of people wanting to join our amazing crew,” said Lauren Beattie, Manager of Gizzy Kai Rescue Charitable Trust. “We have also increased diversity in age, ethnicity and abilities. Gizzy Kai Rescue celebrates inclusion. This means we really try to find roles, tasks and ways of working to fit people when possible.
“Many hands make light work is so true of why we are so efficient at our small but mighty food rescue here in Tairawhiti, every role and task completed by volunteers is so valuable from kai sorting, governing trustees, crate scrubbers to recycling monitors and everywhere in between we work together for our community and the environment .”
Minister joins our National Hui and Visits Fair Food
This September, our members gathered in Tāmaki Makaurau for our annual hui under the theme “Better Together,” generously supported by Woolworths NZ. Highlights included inspiring speakers, including Hon Louise Upston, Minister for Social Development and Employment, who expressed her admiration for the impactful mahi of our members. She emphasised their extraordinary contribution, rescuing 7.4 million kg of surplus kai and distributing 9.8 million kg to communities across Aotearoa each year.
Following the hui, Minister Upston visited Fair Food, where she spent time with their Conscious Kitchen volunteers. She witnessed firsthand how Fair Food creates pathways to employment for people receiving MSD support, showcasing the broader social benefits of food rescue work.
AFRA Members taking part in the New Zealander of the Year KiwiBank Awards
In this year’s Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year award all “Cyclone Gabrielle volunteers” nationally were named as finalists for the Mitre 10 Community of the Year Award Ngā Pou Whirinaki o te Tau. This award recognises a rōpū, or group of people, that together have made an outstanding difference to their community.
Our food rescue community played an invaluable and immense role in the Cyclone Gabrielle response, especially those in the most impacted regions, going above and beyond to help others in crisis, and operating under extremely challenging conditions. We were hugely proud that members of AFRA were invited to attend the Awards Gala to help represent Cyclone Gabrielle volunteers across Aotearoa. Those who attended came from some of our country’s hardest-hit regions and included, Christina McBeth from Nourished for Nil, Gemma Donaldson from South Kaipara Good Food, Michele Ferrero from Gizzy Kai Rescue and Tracey Pirini, from Fair Food.
New food donors help Satisfy expand community support
This year, Satisfy significantly grew its level of support for the community, extending its reach into Christchurch and onboarding six new supermarkets in January.
“Monthly food collections soared from an average of 22 tonnes last year to over 38 tonnes, thanks to the incredible dedication of our volunteers, whose tireless efforts helped turn our challenges into successes,” said Fran Cain, Communications and Funding Specialist at Satisfy. “We celebrated the milestone of rescuing 1.5 million kilograms of food—equivalent to nearly 4.5 million meals—and took a significant step towards sustainability by adding a second EV van to our fleet, made possible by a generous grant from Meridian.
“A heartfelt thank you to our chairperson Phillipa Hunt and three trustees, Kathy, Cushla and Tina, who marked 10 years of service, guiding Satisfy from inception to the thriving organisation it is today.”
AFRA’s commitment to Te Tiriti and Looking Ahead
At the Annual General Meeting in September, members endorsed a new member-driven strategy that will guide our work over the next three years, driven by our pou of advocacy, best practice, ako and sustainability.
“This renewed direction also includes a firm commitment to embracing te ao Māori, honouring te tiriti o Waitangi, and embedding tikanga into our practices and systems,” said Iain Lees-Galloway, AFRA’s General Manager. “It’s a journey and, we know it can be hard to get everything right, but it’s a commitment we are up for.”
Steps AFRA has taken so far include introducing a co-chair model with Tracey Watene and Simone Gibson representing tangata whenua and tangata tiriti, and establishing a Māori caucus.
“We firmly believe that the value, sustainability, and productivity of our organisations, communities, economies, and environment are enhanced by operating ways that reflect the deep interconnectedness of people and te taiao as expressed in te ao Māori,” Iain concluded.
As we celebrate these highlights, we look forward to another year of impact, collaboration, and growing stronger together. Thank you to every member, volunteer, donor, and supporter who makes food rescue in Aotearoa possible. Here’s to 2025!
