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Food and agribusiness specialist Rabobank New Zealand has announced a new partnership agreement with national food rescue charity KiwiHarvest to help reduce food waste in New Zealand.
“Our exciting new partnership will build on our shared values around sustainable food production, community engagement, and thought leadership on this important issue,” Rabobank New Zealand Chief Executive Todd Charteris says.
“New Zealand wastes more than 100,000 tonnes of food every year and an estimated 60 per cent of food dumped at landfills is perfectly edible.
“At the same time, around one in five Kiwi children live in households with severe to moderate food insecurity – basically, they don’t have enough food on the table.
“Apart from depriving hungry families of nutritious food, this significant waste contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and squanders resources such as the water, land, energy and labour used to produce it.
Statistics show that New Zealand produces enough food to feed every Kiwi but for a variety of reasons it does not always get to those in need. Large amounts of edible food are wasted because of approaching use-by dates, mislabelling, damaged packaging or cancelled orders.
KiwiHarvest’s role in reducing food waste
The new partnership complements Rabobank’s sponsorship of the new TVNZ series Eat Well For Less, which builds awareness around the issue of food waste and how Kiwis can save money with some simple cooking tricks to reduce waste.
Established in 2012, KiwiHarvest collects good food before it goes to waste and gets it to those in need through a number of community and social agencies.
So far, it has saved over 4.1 million kilograms of food and delivered over 11.4 million meals – predominantly fruit and vegetables.
KiwiHarvest operates from five locations around New Zealand – Auckland, the North Shore, Dunedin, Hawkes Bay and Queenstown, with plans to expand into other regions and build a national distribution network.
“We’re delighted to have Rabobank join us as a strategic partner especially in these difficult times,” KiwiHarvest Chief Executive Gavin Findlay says.
“With many Kiwis facing food insecurity, there’s never been a shortage of demand for our services – even on a normal day. The impact of Covid-19 has been far-reaching with more and more Kiwi families facing financial hardship and struggling to put nutritious food on the table. At the same time, there is still a large quantity of quality food going to waste.
“Over the last month or so, we’ve seen that demand for our services grow at a rapid rate. Rabobank’s support through this new partnership will allow us to immediately invest in much-needed resources and equipment at our South Auckland warehouse over the coming months, plus another refrigerated vehicle for collecting food.”
In the next few years, with Rabobank’s support, KiwiHarvest will look to expand into other regions.
Apart from supporting KiwiHarvest’s capacity at its South Auckland warehouse, a key aspect of the new partnership is the opportunity for Rabobank employees across New Zealand to contribute to reducing food waste.
Opportunities for Rabobank staff
Rabobank has added KiwiHarvest to its New Zealand workplace-giving programme, which means that for every dollar donated by its staff, Rabobank will match it – dollar for dollar.
“Our new partnership will also provide valuable community volunteering and team building opportunities for Rabobank teams across the country,” Mr Charteris says.
“And we’ll involve KiwiHarvest at key events supported by Rabobank, so together we can spread the word about reducing food waste, supporting families in need and helping the environment all at the same time.
“We’re really excited about this new partnership and the opportunities it will provide us all to contribute to a worthy cause.
“Rabobank’s global mission is all about Growing a Better World Together. That’s what this partnership is all about.”
FOOD WASTE FACT FILE
KiwiHarvest is a national New Zealand food rescue charity, whose mission is to reduce the amount of good surplus food that’s wasted every day and give it to our most vulnerable communities. It provides a crucial connection between food producers and the community.
Did you know?
Rabobank New Zealand is a part of the global Rabobank Group, the world’s leading specialist in food and agribusiness banking. Rabobank has nearly 120 years’ experience providing customised banking and finance solutions to businesses involved in all aspects of food and agribusiness. Rabobank is structured as a cooperative and operates in 40 countries, servicing the needs of about 8.6 million clients worldwide through a network of close to 1000 offices and branches. Rabobank New Zealand is one of the country's leading agricultural lenders and a significant provider of business and corporate banking and financial services to the New Zealand food and agribusiness sector. The bank has 32 branches throughout New Zealand.
Media contacts:
David Johnston
Marketing & Media Relations Manager
Rabobank New Zealand
Phone: 04 819 2711 or 027 477 8153
Email: david.johnston@rabobank.com
Denise Shaw
Head of Media Relations
Rabobank Australia & New Zealand
Phone: +612 8115 2744 or +61 2 439 603 525
Email: denise.shaw@rabobank.com
