Free fish head giveaways every week in Flaxmere, Hawke’s Bay ‘the first step in exploring other free food sources’

• A new weekly food giveaway in Flaxmere aims to end food poverty and reduce food waste.
• LegaSea Hawke’s Bay and Sustainable Hawke’s Bay are distributing fish heads and frames to families.
• The initiative plans to expand to other locations across the Hawke’s Bay.

A new weekly food giveaway scheme in Flaxmere aims to end food poverty and needless food waste by giving away fish heads and frames to hungry families.

LegaSea Hawke’s Bay and Sustainable Hawke’s Bay have joined forces to collect fish parts that would otherwise go to waste and distribute them to the community.

The first of these events was held on Thursday afternoon at the Samoan Assembly of God Church on Flaxmere Ave, where it will be held weekly going forward.

Wayne Bicknell from LegaSea Hawke’s Bay estimated they had about 250 fish heads and frames to give away, with all the fish caught in Hawke’s Bay by Star Food Service and Saltwater Seafoods.

“We’re looking at this stage at about five or six fish per person,” said Bicknell.

Careata Kawenga holds one of the free fish head and frames she picked up at the LegaSea Hawke's Bay and Sustainable Hawke's Bay's new food giveaway scheme. Photo / Jack Riddell

“Depends how many people come.”

Bicknell said LegaSea’s mission with the giveaways was to minimise the impact on the marine environment through better utilisation of natural resources.

A dedicated fisherman himself, Bicknell said he was unsure why people weren’t eating fish heads.

“I guess us fishermen just like the fillets and that’s probably a bit disrespectful to the fish.

“What we’re doing here is utilising the whole animal and appreciating the whole animal.”

Once the Flaxmere site is up and running, LegaSea and Sustainable Hawke’s are planning on opening several other weekly fish head drops around the region.

Volunteers give away fish heads and frames at a new free food scheme run by LegaSea Hawke's Bay and Sustainable Hawke's Bay. Photo / Jack Riddell

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Sustainable Hawke’s Bay chief executive Emma Horgan-Heke calls the partnership with LegaSea “the first step in exploring other free food sources”.

“We’re also looking at how we bring a project that might look at pest control with deer by turning that into a meat source that’s free for everyone.

“The extension of that would be looking at what crops are left on the tree at the end of the season so that we can partner with horticulture to pick those crops and do something with them and get them out into the community.

“A long-term focus for us is looking at food resilience and what works for what communities and how we bring about more long-term independence.”

Horgan-Heke calls the scheme a triple-win.

“It’s helping with food poverty, it’s helping reduce waste which is helping reduce emissions, and then it’s also helping with biodiversity with some of those projects.”

When asked what they like to do with fish heads, Bicknell said the meat from the head makes the best fish chowder, while Horgan-Heke likes to use it to make a fish stock to go in her Asian cooking.

However, Cereata Kawenga, who was one of the first in line at the giveaway, was looking forward to a big boil up.

“Few onions, potatoes, coconut cream, and fish heads. Can’t wait,” Kawenga said.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and spent the last 15 years working in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier. He reports on all stories relevant to residents of the region, along with pieces on art, music, and culture.