New Zealand Food Network: Hastings branch opens

The New Zealand Food Network deals with bulk, national scale quantities of food waste, rescuing food for vulnerable communities across Aotearoa. Photo / Warren Buckland

Hawke's Bay has joined Auckland and Christchurch's distribution centres, with an arm of the New Zealand Food Network setting up shop in Hastings.

The New Zealand Food Network deals with bulk, national scale quantities of food waste, rescuing food for vulnerable communities from Whangarei to Invercargill and as of October 13, Hastings.

New Zealand Food Network CEO Gavin Findlay.

New Zealand Food Network CEO Gavin Findlay said the company discovered a big gap where bulk food waste was concerned, which needed an outlet that wasn't the landfill.

"What we do is supplementary to local food hubs, they're the tentacles that reach into the local community.

"We just help those entities to move surplus of national levels of food waste that would be otherwise ploughed back into the earth or disposed into landfills," Findlay said.

The New Zealand Food Network opened in July 2020, and its recent expansion into Hawke's Bay marks a decision to serve the community its homegrown surplus.

"T & G charity arm Fairgrow is one of our founding donors, who have been donating their surplus of produce from Hawke's Bay, which we repackage into manageable units.

"It's important that we reduce our carbon footprint and service the central and lower North Island, as this is where the surplus is from," he said.

The Hastings branch will support six food hubs including Nourished for Nil, the Salvation Army Hastings, and Just Zilch, among others.