Second Harvest: A Fresh Approach to Feeding Communities

Fresh fruit, community spirit and a shared purpose came together in the Bay of Plenty this month. Our member, The Hub Te Puke, and a crew of volunteers joined forces to harvest kiwifruit that otherwise would have gone unpicked at Plant & Food Research. In just 90 minutes, the team picked 800kg of fruit for redistribution to the community.

This is what’s known as a second harvest: rescuing high-quality produce from farms, orchards, or gardens. It’s a simple but powerful idea that helps ensure surplus food is used to feed people first.

Around the world, second harvest is gaining momentum. In the United States, organisations like Hidden Harvest and Food Forward coordinate volunteers to collect surplus produce directly from farms and backyards. In Australia, SecondBite and OzHarvest have developed similar models, building networks with growers and creating systems to safely and efficiently redirect food to people who need it. These initiatives help ensure nutritious food feeds people first.

Here in Aotearoa, we see huge potential to grow second harvest efforts. At AFRA, we’re working to develop resources, tools and connections that will help our members engage with growers and scale up this kind of work. From providing guidelines for food safety and volunteer coordination to sharing case studies and equipment advice, we’re building resources to make second harvest more accessible for food rescue groups across the motu.

We’re excited to consolidate the learnings and knowledge of our members into resources available later this year.

Thanks to all our members who are currently sharing their experience, and to partners like Plant & Food Research and the Kiwifruit Breeding Centre for backing this kaupapa and showing what’s possible when we come together to do good. By stepping in sooner, we can get more nutritious kai to our communities and make real progress on protecting our resources and strengthening local food security.