Every day, good food is thrown away while local families struggle to put meals on the table. At Waiwaste Food Rescue, we believe that doesn't make sense.
Waiwaste Food Rescue is a not-for-profit organisation serving the Wairarapa. We rescue perfectly good surplus food from supermarkets, growers, producers, and other local businesses, then redistribute it free of charge to food banks and community organisations that ensure people in need have access to nutritious food.
We are also the New Zealand Food Network Hub for the Wairarapa, receiving bulk rescued food from national logistics centres and distributing it throughout the region. Operating five days a week with the support of our dedicated volunteers, we collect and deliver food daily using our electric vans to more than 35 community organisations, including the Masterton Foodbank.
Food rescue creates a double impact. It helps feed people while reducing the environmental cost of food waste. Around one-third of all food produced worldwide never gets eaten, despite the enormous resources required to grow, produce, and transport it. Food waste is responsible for around 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Every kilogram of food we rescue makes a measurable difference:
- Prevents 3kg of carbon dioxide emissions
- Saves 636 litres of water
- Creates 2.2 meals
- Preserves $6.92 worth of good food
Last financial year we distributed 168,000kg of food
Your support helps us collect more food, reach more communities, and keep perfectly good food out of landfill and on the tables of people who need it most.
Together, we can feed people—not landfills.
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