A national food rescue charity is widening its reach in Queenstown Lakes, with upcoming expansion into Wanaka and other parts of the district. 

Kiwiharvest started in 2012 with just one woman using her personal car to collect surplus food and distributing it to people in need. 

Nine years later the charity has offices in Queenstown, Dunedin, Hawkes Bay, Auckland and Auckland’s North Shore, and its expansion here is part of its efforts to service the harder-to-reach and often under-served areas. 

“Our model is we rescue food from the local area and provide that to a local service organisation,” Kiwiharvest general manager Blandina Diamond told the Wanaka App. 

Kiwiharvest has been working with supermarkets and grocers in Wanaka to arrange collection of excess but safe-to-eat food and plans to distribute it to organisations Community Networks and Food for Love, Blandina said. 

The expansion - which is into Cromwell, Glenorchy and other areas around Queenstown, as well as Wanaka - has been made possible because the charity has recently been given warehouse space in the Queenstown headquarters, which means it can store much larger quantities of food than it could previously.

A delivery underway in Queenstown.

Donations have also made possible the purchase of a new truck which can service the district, replacing the small van that Queenstown has been using up until now, and a second staff member has been hired to help cover the wide area. 

Blandina said because Wanaka doesn’t have a huge number of supermarkets and grocers, some of the stock collected in Queenstown would be brought over to Wanaka to help meet the need here. 

She said she’d been met with some surprise at the fact Kiwiharvest had an office in Queenstown Lakes, with many seeing the area as just a bolthole for the wealthy. 

“I have to explain that the people that work in tourism and hospitality aren’t highly paid and when they are losing their jobs or having their hours reduced, these people need help,” she said. 

Kiwiharvest CEO Gavin Findlay seconded this, adding the region’s isolation meant it also had less access to social service agencies than urban areas. 

“Food insecurity is a direct result of a number of factors affecting individuals, families or communities. At present, the economic impact on the low- to middle-income earners in these communities has been significant.”

Around the country, Kiwiharvest rescues 170,000-200,000kgs of food and redistributes it every month.

Food is supplied by food businesses, from supermarkets, wholesalers, producers, cafes, restaurants and hotels who have surplus food because of oversupply, damaged packaging, cancelled orders, mislabelling, or because the food is nearing its best before date or end of life.

It is distributed free of charge to community groups and social service agencies who share it with people in need.

Blandina said the charity aims to double its distribution volumes throughout Queenstown Lakes in the next 18 months. 

PHOTOS: Kiwiharvest