We’ve been busy mapping out ways to reduce food waste. We're talking to all sorts of people – from farm to fork – about what they see as the barriers and opportunities. Our Champions’ organisations have been heavily involved and will be our main case studies. In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview on what some external organisations had to say.
Totally Local
David Nation and Sean Toohey have recently set up a new business, Totally Local, in the wake of Covid-19. Totally Local’s mission is to connect consumers with the best food from trusted producers in their area. Consumers can browse the local marketplace by entering their postcode and then pick up food or get it delivered. The main point of difference to Totally Local’s marketplace is all in the name – “localism”.
On food waste reduction, one of Totally Local’s goals is sustainability. That means taking care of food waste as well as selling good food. Delivery is more sustainable in local networks and food will generally get to people quicker to prevent wastage. One particular project Totally Local is working on is with the Ministry of Primary Industries and related to food security. They are finding ways to get food to people into tricky to reach spots - so watch this space if that's your region!
Baking Industry Association New Zealand
Kevin and Esther Gilbert have been bakery business owners of Gilberts in Dunedin since 2012. They are also involved with Baking Industry New Zealand (soon to be Baking New Zealand) which represents just under 300 craft bakers across the country. There are a few things these bakers are doing to reduce food waste. First, they are partnering with food rescue charity KiwiHarvest (founded by Champion, Deborah Manning). Their daily surplus is picked up by KiwiHarvest and redistributed to people in need. They’re also working with Doubt Not Composting on any produce that is not good enough to sell or eat. Big picture, Esther suggests that a lot of it comes down to education – how can we connect food rescue organisations to hospitality? How can we support the food sector better? Kevin admits that “we know there’s more that we can do but we just don’t know quite what that is”.
That’s why we’re working on this Food Waste Reduction Map – to identify solutions at each stage of the food supply chain.
We will formally launch our map on Monday 22nd March at the Food Waste Summit, hosted by WasteMINZ with assistance from NZ Food Waste Champions.
Thank you to AGMARDT and Countdown who are supporting this mapping project – we’re getting closer to food waste solutions by the day!
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