New site for food rescue charity Kaibosh means more food saved from waste

Ben Wakefield and Aimee Bowden, from Kaibosh Food Rescue's Kapiti-Horowhenua Branch. Photo / Rosalie Willis

Demand keeps growing for Kaibosh, a food rescue charity that opened its Kāpiti-Horowhenua branch last year.

Starting out in an old classroom at Kāpiti Impact Hub on Tongariro St, Kaibosh has moved to a bigger building on Sheffield St, surrounded by other food production and logistics companies.

"The supermarkets are starting to figure out we can actually take more food and there's been a lot more communication between us and them, which has been great," operations manager Ben Wakefield said.

"We've increased our volume through regional and national logistics, and a strong partnership with the National Food Network.

"Kaibosh gets two loads from the National Food Network who deliver it to Petone each week before being distributed to us.

"We've increased over the last year to averaging about 11 tonnes going in and out of the site each month.

"The new site is bigger, we've expanded the refrigeration area and it's more fit for purpose.

"You want to plan for the worst, but hope for the best, so if anything happens at our Petone site which gets the big deliveries from the National Food Network, we are able to take them here in Kāpiti."

Surrounded by other logistics and food production businesses such as neighbours Dark Horse Coffee and Duncan's Brewing Co, the new site on Sheffield St is more appropriate than the former old classroom Kaibosh operated from at the Kāpiti Impact Hub.

"Kāpiti Impact Hub was great for us to start at, but we're all in the same vein around here, we're very much a food logistics business.

"This move is about future-proofing ourselves as an organisation, and also realising that we can take more - and there is more to take out there.

"We are always looking to increase our supply and get more out."

With more than 30 volunteers, the place was quickly cleaned up thanks to volunteers' water blasting, painting and helping put the fridge together with help from Summit Refrigeration.

Establishing themselves in the district right before the first Covid-19 lockdown, Kaibosh shut down over the lockdown, but this year was able to continue operating.

"Last year we started and then shut down, whereas this time we made a concerted effort to stay open during lockdown.

"We had just staff, no volunteers, and we managed with the intention of keeping the food going out to those in need.

"We were given lots of PPE, which we could also give out with the food.

"It was good for us to be able to continue operating and it is great for the charities we work with to see us continuing to operate.

"This space is an in and out space where we work to get food into the hands of people who need it – and it always will be."

Emphasising that their role is not to store food but to take food that can no longer be sold, sort it, and give it straight back out to those in need, Ben said there has been no time where a charity has said no to food because it's too much, the need is increasing.

Last year they shut for three weeks over the Christmas holiday period, but the Kāpiti team is only taking one week off this Christmas.

"The demand always increases around Christmas and actually hits more after Christmas.
"You start getting into the New Year and you've spent a lot of your resources over that time.

"Often you have kids home for the holidays eating more food, and there's no breakfast clubs or school lunches for them, so we find that families are often more in need.

"We're finding there's also a lot of leftover finance issues from Covid-19, a lot of clients in the organisations and charities we give food to that are trying their hardest but it's just a tough time."

Working with six supermarkets around the district, Ben said: "Countdown is great, and we have relationships with the New Worlds and Pak'nSave's here too.

"We just sort what we collect from them and give on the stuff which they can't sell.

"The goal is to not have stuff sitting around at the end of the week, it's all about getting it in, sorting it, and getting it out again to those who need it."