Fair Food kitchen coordinator Dale Hadden. Photo: RNZ / Leonard Powell
Have you ever wondered what happens to all of the food in supermarkets that is overlooked by shoppers?
Well, for a long time, supermarkets threw out huge amounts of kai with the trash, destined for the landfill unless grabbed by a sneaky dumpster diver.
But Auckland-based charity Fair Food is doing its best to make a difference, rescuing tonnes of produce every day to feed those in need.
Fair Food has been in operation for 13 years, has 10 full time staff, and visits a staggering 30 supermarkets every day.
Sonny Wade is a volunteer manager.
"When I first started truck driving, I was going to the grocery stores, I didn't realise the amount of food that went to waste. The food that they just disregard, it's astronomical.
"It's amazing that what we can give out to our community. The struggle is real, I've been there."
Fair Food volunteer coordinator Sonny Wade. Photo: RNZ / Leonard Powell
Sonny said the work has been transformational for his wairua.
"It's really soul fulfilling this job. The reward of people's smiles, their gratitude, you know how thankful they are."
Fair Food's Avondale warehouse is full of food boxes, bags of bread, plus chillers and freezers with vegetables, fruit, meat and dairy products. Forklifts are in action, as trucks back in to unload and repack.
It's all food that is close to expiring, or slightly damaged, but still perfectly fine for consumption.
Michelle Blau and Sonny Wade from Fair Food packing up a haul to take back to the hub. Photo: RNZ / Leonard Powell
Fair Food shares an average of 2365 kilos of fresh kai each day. It's all divided between 70 community partners, from domestic violence shelters, transitional housing and schools, to social services and mental health organisations.
In the back of the hub, kitchen coordinator Dale Hadden is preparing to cook ready to eat meals.
Michelle Blau. Photo: RNZ / Leonard Powell
With help from volunteers, Dale packs around 1000 meals per week.
Today, the bench top is covered with tomatoes and capsicums - Dale said it was a matter of working with what they had.
"We do a lot of pasta sauce at the present time. But you know, we do vegetable curries, we do quiches and just pump out as much as we can for the people that need it."
General manager Michelle Blau said the amount of "people that need it" has never been higher.
"We're in a growth industry, but we shouldn't be. Every month we set a new record for how much need there is. Right now, we're seeing a real trend of schools who are quite worried about what their kids are going to eat over the summer break. So they're contacting us to say, can we do as much as we can to fill the pantries over summer.
"There's also been a real rise in seniors whose retirement income is just not going as far as it should, and so they're getting kai assistance for the first time."
Thirteen years into the operation, Michelle said it would not be possible without the massive team of 500 volunteers.
Fair Food has distributed nearly 680 tonnes of kai back into the community this year alone - that's about a week's worth of groceries for 80,000 people.
"It's quite frightening, honestly. Funding does not keep up with demand from our customers, the more customers we have, the harder it is. And so and government support is lighter than it's ever been. And so ... I don't have a lot of optimism about what the year ahead might look like in that regard."
