KiwiHarvest used rescued mince, pastry, onions, cheese and even some of New Zealand’s last remaining Jaffas to celebrate a major food rescue milestone in Auckland this week.
More than 120 food donors, charity partners and community supporters gathered at KiwiHarvest’s East Tāmaki distribution centre for the organisation’s ‘4 N 20 Million’ lunch, marking both four million kilograms of food rescued in the past year alone and more than 20 million kilograms rescued since 2012.
The menu was designed to showcase what can still be created from quality surplus food, with chefs Peter Gordon, Alfie Ingham, and Brent Martin serving up classic Kiwi-style pies made from rescued ingredients as part of the KiwiHarvest Chef Collective.
Guests were also treated to brownies prepared by Rescued Kitchen using what is believed to be the last remaining supply of Jaffas in New Zealand.
KiwiHarvest CEO Angela Calver said the event highlighted both the scale of food waste in New Zealand and the growing importance of food rescue organisations.
“To rescue four million kilograms of food in a single year is an incredible achievement, but it also highlights the reality that demand for food support across New Zealand continues to grow,” said Calver.
Since launching in 2012, KiwiHarvest has built a nationwide network that collects quality surplus food from supermarkets, growers, manufacturers and hospitality businesses, then redistributes it free of charge to charities and community organisations.
Peter Gordon said the event showed that rescued food could still be used to create meals that bring people together.
“New Zealand produces more than enough food to feed everyone, yet there’s still a disconnect between surplus food and the people who need it most,” he said.
“There’s something incredibly meaningful about taking rescued ingredients and transforming them into meals that bring people together.”
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