Social Return on Investment
For every $1 invested in food rescue there is a social return of $4:50
How do we know? We measured it.
We undertook a Social Return on Investment (SROI) study, to understand, measure, and value the impact of food rescue by identifying what outcomes our activities create, and using financial proxies to represent them.
A Social Return on Investment study helps us go beyond good intentions. It shows the real social and environmental value our work delivers.
How we did the maths
We added up the financial donations, and $ value of the gifted food and volunteer time. That’s our investment.
We then looked at our outcomes and give each one a financial proxy (e.g. For example our donors have reduced waste removal costs, and we know how much it costs to send food to landfill).
We put the totals against each other to get the ratio, 4.5:1
Thanks to our Researchers
We’re grateful to our researchers: Grace Clare, Lead Researcher for the AFRA Impact Project and PhD student at the University of Otago; Dr Louise Lee, Independent Researcher based in Wairarapa; and Dr Gradon Diprose, Researcher in Environmental Social Science at Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research. Their expertise has been invaluable in helping us understand and demonstrate the true social value of food rescue across Aotearoa.