Kai Rescue

Preventing Food Waste, Supporting Families in South Kaipara

Kai Rescue diverts surplus food from landfill and redistributes it through our programmes. In FY2025, we rescued 107,625kg of food, preventing 322,875kg of CO₂ emissions and saving 68 million litres of water.

“Being able to work alongside SKGF to divert food from the local pig farmer or pay a levy for waste management has been a great step forward.” – LG

We collaborate with Woolworths, KiwiHarvest, Fair Food, New Zealand Food Network, Four Square, Living Goodness, Gourmet Paprika, Superb Herb and others to ensure good food reaches those who need it.

South Kaipara Good Food is one of 36 members of the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance (AFRA) and is committed to preventing nutritious edible food from going to landfill.

Food is a basic human right, yet in New Zealand, billions of dollars of edible food is wasted each year. It is diverted to landfills – while one in five children live in households facing food insecurity.

If you are thinking about donating to a food rescue, please contact Gemma.

“Food rescue is hugely important for Woolworths New Zealand. We’re proud to support the amazing work that South Kaipara Good Food does in the Helensville and South Kaipara communities.

Woolworths aims to have no surplus food going to landfill. We want as much as possible of our safe, edible surplus food going to people, not the skip at the back of the store. In recent years we’ve seen a huge drop in the amount of food going to landfill from our Helensville store. That’s down to our store team and Gemma and the SKGF team working together to get surplus food out to the community. We’re proud to help that work with funding from our Food Rescue grants ($1m+ across Aotearoa in FY2026) and we look forward to a continuing strong relationship with SKGF.” – Catherine Langabeer, Head of Sustainability, Woolworths New Zealand

KGS OF FOOD SAVED BY FOOD RESCUE

kg of CO2 stopped from entering the atmosphere

litres of water saved from the drain

meals provided by food rescue

$ Goods in Kind value

Do you have excess to donate?

Fill in this form and a member of our team will get back to you.

“The Christmas Kai Pack made such a difference for our whānau. Things have been really tight this year, and I was worrying about how to make Christmas special for the kids. Opening the pack was emotional, especially for Kelsey, my daughter. There was fresh food, treats, and even some things we wouldn’t normally be able to afford. It wasn’t just food; it felt like someone cared. Thank you to everyone who made this happen — you brought a bit of Kirihimete cheer. Thanks!”
— Christmas Kai Recipient, Helensville