Nourished for Nil founder Christina McBeth making up food packages during lockdown.
Food waste organisation Nourished for Nil has seen demand for its service ramp up since
lockdown. Napier Courier reporter Brenda Vowden caught up with founder Christina
McBeth to find out more.
How were the public and volunteers feeling leading up to lockdown?
I think there was a lot of apprehension from our volunteers because so many of them fall
into the over-70 age bracket, which meant they would no longer be able to help. Those
who frequent our venue were equally apprehensive because they were worried we wouldn't
stay open. But it wasn't long before it was clear our service would be classed as essential.
At what point did you start rethinking your operation?
We started about a week before lockdown, when we began
implementing social distancing during food distribution. We also changed our days of
operation, closed our Napier branch — which had only begun three weeks earlier —
and reduced our volunteer numbers.
With all the cafes closing, what ideas did you all come up with?
Cafes closing has been a loss because we get lots of delicious bakery and breads from
them but thankfully they are only a small part of the food we collect. If anything, since
lockdown we have received more food than we have before. For example local
businesses such as Phil's Garden, Reids produce, Ryan's, Bostock and Simply Squeezed
have really stepped up their donations. We are incredibly grateful to them because it has
meant food parcels have a good serving of fresh fruits, vegetables and smoothies. With
these donations we have also been able to support foodbanks, the Salvation Army,
Taiwhenua, and other food service groups as far north as Gisborne and all the way down
to Dannevirke.
Tell me how Nourished for Nil is running now during lockdown?
We had to change the hours of service to reflect a loss in volunteer numbers and because
we aren't collecting food from cafes or having to consider those who work from 9am to
5pm, we have been able to move our hours forward slightly. We are now open Monday,
Wednesday, Friday from 4pm to 5pm and Thursday mornings from 10am to 11am. During
lockdown, all sessions are open to everyone. Because we had to close the Napier branch
for the time being, we have collaborated with Te Taiwhenua, who are taking over that side
of food distribution for us. We realise this is a real disappointment for the Napier
community but it has been very much out of our control. We will endeavour to resume
distribution over there as soon as lockdown levels drop below level 2.
How does this work with volunteers?
To keep our volunteer numbers small we have created two non-overlapping teams of five
or six, which are a morning team working 8am until 1pm and the
afternoon team working from 1pm to about 6pm. This works very well and between us we
pack about 350 or more parcels a day. It's strange not to be working together but
desperate times call for desperate measures and this is what works best right now.
Tell me about the volume of food available?
Many assume that the quantities of donated food have reduced, but so far that does not
seem to be the case. We continue to get excess, unsold, imperfect produce and dented
grocery from supermarkets as well as pallets of frozens from local manufacturers. We also
received a lot of one-offs from restaurants, shops and fast-food outlets that had to
close. We are immensely grateful that we are able to provide an outlet for this food given
the times and uncertainty we are in.
Has there been any offers of food from unexpected sources?
Yes, fast-food outlets! Honestly I think that pretty much took everyone by surprise to see
them close. What pleased us though was these business opted to give us their stock
rather than throwing it out. Many said they felt this was a good way to support their local
community despite their financial loss.
Has there been any change in the numbers of people needing/wanting food?
The faces that frequent our service have changed considerably over the past few weeks
which is revealing. We realise in these uncertain times, people become much
more conscious /worried of their budgets or even if they still have a job, so getting
something for nothing is actually quite smart.
How have new health and safety measures impacted the day-to-day operation?
The new measures, which we predict will continue for some time, do make work around
our depot trickier but nothing we can't overcome. We find that everyone is
accommodating and willing to do what it takes to follow procedures and guidelines. We
are cleaning surfaces much more often, going through boxes of gloves each week, and one
of our talented volunteers has sewn us personal face masks. We have always been very
conscious of hygiene when handling food so our procedures in that regard haven't
changed much.
Do you have any message to the public?
We have had many offers of help during lockdown, people wanting to come in to help
because it provides them with a change of scenery. Unfortunately, we can't take on any
new volunteers at this time, but thankfully we have enough existing helpers to get us
through.
One more thing, even though these are very serious times and we are dealing with very
real and scary situations and many unknowns, we have a lot of fun while we perform this
labour of love. The team morale is high and we are so rapt to be in a place where we can
have a direct impact on the wellbeing of our community.
For more information visit https://www.nourishedfornil.org/ or check out
Facebook page Nourished for Nil