KiwiHarvest chief executive Angela Calver (centre) and staff in their Auckland distribution centre packing boxes of donated food they'll deliver to Auckland charities. Photo / Greg Bowker
KiwiHarvest chief executive Angela Calver (centre) and staff in their Auckland distribution centre packing boxes of donated food they'll deliver to Auckland charities. Photo / Greg Bowker
The Herald is profiling 12 charities awarded $10,000 each from Auckland Airport’s Twelve Days of Christmas community giving tradition. Each grant is thanks to generous travellers who placed unwanted currency into money boxes dotted around the terminals in 2024.
Food rescue organisation KiwiHarvest works magic everyday, collecting good food before it goes to waste and diverting it to families in need.
Sometimes the magic comes back its way, as the team experienced recently when it was time for a new delivery vehicle.
KiwiHarvest’s refrigerated truck, Kia, recently made its last run collecting rescued food and delivering it to charities on the front line of helping people put food on their table.
With repairs deemed too extensive, Kia was donated to a youth group in Ōtara, South Auckland, who will be taking it apart and learning how to fix it. In the meantime, KiwiHarvest was hiring a truck until it was in a position to buy a new one.
That’s come sooner than expected with a Christmas gift of $10,000 from Auckland Airport’s Twelve Days of Christmas community giving programme for communities in the airport’s surrounds.
KiwiHarvest was a recipient of the Twelve Days of Christmas grant from Auckland Airport. Photo / Greg Bowker
The money is collected from spare change and foreign currency deposited in the globe money boxes dotted around Auckland Airport throughout the year, and KiwiHarvest is one of 12 recipients to benefit from the money this Christmas.
“The timing couldn’t be more perfect for this money because of the need we have for this truck coming into the busy season,” KiwiHarvest chief executive Angela Calver says.
“Late January is the busiest time of year for us, when kids are going back to school and parents need to find money for uniforms and school supplies, adding to the pressures for those who are already struggling.”
South Auckland is one of KiwiHarvest’s busiest areas, where about 15% of the food is distributed through 27 partner charities such as the Salvation Army, Women’s Refuge, homeless shelters, community kitchens and education organisations.
“Food is so often the starting point for social agencies working with their clients to break the cycle of need. Having KiwiHarvest deliver rescued food allows those agencies to concentrate on tackling their core issues and refocus their funding on programmes to help their clients,” Calver says.
“The high-quality, fresh food we provide offers more nutrition than the canned and dry goods that charities have traditionally been able to access, filling a gap for so many who are struggling to feed themselves and their families.
The money will help KiwiHarvest provide fresh food to those in need. Photo / Greg Bowker
“If we had not been able to replace the truck, we would lose 20% of our capacity to pick up good-quality food – which we can’t afford given the need is so great and we already have 51 agencies on the wait list to receive the food.”
Auckland Airport chief corporate services officer Melanie Dooney says the airport is delighted to help KiwiHarvest put a new delivery truck on the road.
“The cost-of-living crunch has intensified the challenge of accessing nutritious food for many families, making KiwiHarvest more vital than ever,” Dooney says. “We are pleased to be able to support the new truck and the team’s efforts to reduce food waste and hunger by getting it into the hands of those who need it.”
KiwiHarvest was established in 2012 and has branches in Auckland (Highbrook and North Shore), Queenstown, Dunedin and Invercargill.
It rescues about 200,000kg of good-quality surplus food every month, with more than 40% of that being fruit and vegetables outside of specifications or coming close to end of life in supermarkets.
Apart from feeding people, it helps reduce the environmental impact of food waste by keeping edible food from landfills where it would decompose and release harmful greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
