Founded in 2015, Waiwaste rescues food that is good enough to eat but not good enough to sell.
Our staff and volunteers work in the Wairarapa, collecting from supermarkets, growers, cafes, bakeries, and producers who recognise that they can help their community by handing on food to us. We then distribute it to local community organisations who support people with are struggling to feed their families. We do not deal directly with individuals.
We’re also the New Zealand Food Network Hub for the Wairarapa and receive bulk rescued goods from their logistics centres.
Our focus areas & objectives include the following
· Championing the Environment, by working to address food waste, and minimise the food waste that goes to landfill. Food wasted round the world makes up roughly eight percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.
· Food Sharing by nurturing and growing our relationships with community focussed food recipient organisations around the region. This includes Carterton Foodbank. We also work to grow the volume and sources of nutritious rescued food for these organisations.
We are the wholesale arm of Food Security in the Wairarapa, while the Foodbanks and other community organisations are the retail arms.