THE NEED FOR A FOOD RESCUE SERVICE IN HAMILTON:
REPORT OF A FEASIBILITY STUDY
Prepared for
D.V. Bryant Trust
Trust Waikato
WEL Energy Trust
Prepared by
Ruth Hungerford
with Ruth Seabright
January 2014
P O Box 4457 Hamilton 3247
Mobile 0274 369 970 Phone 07 856 8292
email ruth@momentumresearch.co.nz web www.momentumresearch.co.nz
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
This document reports on the result of a feasibility study into the need for a food rescue service in Hamilton.
The study was conducted for D.V. Bryant Trust, Trust Waikato, and WEL Energy Trust, together with a
reference group of local community organisations, by Momentum Research and Evaluation Limited between
October and December 2013.
The aim of the feasibility study was to provide information on the need or not, for the establishment of a food
rescue service in Hamilton. It had two objectives: (i) to identify existing food distribution services in Hamilton
and assess if there is a need for a food rescue service to be established in Hamilton to complement those
existing services; and (ii) should a need be identified, to provide an indication of potential food donors,
recipients and infrastructure needed.
The research included reviewing relevant documents and legislation, and undertaking 75 key informant
interviews with 90 participants from 34 social service agencies, 19 current or potential food donor
organisations, 21 other groups (e.g. local government, other community groups, potential sources of
volunteers), and one (non-Hamilton based) food rescue service.
The findings were analysed and grouped under four key areas: (i) current food distribution services; (ii)
potential recipient agencies; (iii) potential food donors; and (iv) potential service set up. The following outlines
the overall finding, followed by a brief summary of the key findings for each area.
KEY FINDINGS
OVERALL FINDING
Overall, the research identified that Hamilton could benefit from a food rescue service because: (i) there is a
need amongst social service agencies for more food; (ii) there is food that could be ‘rescued’ and potential
food donors are interested in donating; and (iii) although there is a need for more food and there are underutilised sources of food, these have not necessarily been ‘tapped.’ There was also, from the majority of those
interviewed, a high level of support for having a food rescue service in Hamilton.
CURRENT FOOD DISTRIBUTION SERVICES
There are three Foodbanks in Hamilton, who provide food parcels to families. In addition there are a number
of agencies providing emergency food, free or low cost meals, school lunches, and cooking classes, and other
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initiatives such as the St Vincent de Paul Fulfil van , volunteers who will pick excess fruit, Facebook pages to
connect people in need, community gardens, low cost vegetable boxes and meat packs.
The primary recipients of the food distribution services in Hamilton are low income families, children, and
others from vulnerable populations (e.g. homeless, mental health), either directly (e.g. via food parcels,
emergency food, mobile meals, school lunches) or indirectly (e.g. food is given to the agencies who use it to
prepare community meals, school lunches).
The Foodbanks and some of the social service agencies do collect (or have delivered to them) some ‘rescued’
food on a regular or seasonal basis from retailers or wholesalers such as supermarkets, butchers and bakeries,
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The Fulfill van is a St Vincent de Paul initiative in which, each week day they visit a different suburb, between 5 and 7pm, and during this
time they give out food and milo to children and families.
and/or growers such as orchards, farmers and community gardens. Some businesses donate left-over food
from fundraisers and/ or events to the Foodbanks and/or social service agencies. There are two specific food
rescue services currently operating. One is a volunteer-based ‘fruit rescue’ service (Community Fruit
Hamilton) and the other a cafe food rescue service run by a local cafe (Momento) which sources and
redistributes food from its own cafes.
The various food distribution agencies, such as the Foodbanks, have reasonable access to a range of food
types, although there are some gaps, with the main gaps identified as being fresh food (e.g. fruit and
vegetables) and dairy products .
POTENTIAL RECIPIENT AGENCIES
There are a significant number of families in Hamilton who are enrolled or accessing social service agencies for
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food. Determining the level of need is complex, however the weekly food parcel numbers are probably the
most reliable indication of how many families are regularly receiving food at an ‘emergency’ level. The daily
community meal, school lunch programme, and mobile meal numbers give a good indication of how many
individuals are receiving regular meals, and the weekly numbers of these give a good indication of quantities of
food.
There are a range of needs and wants in terms of food types, amounts of food, and the ability to store and
collect it, and this differs across agencies, depending on the services they offer, the facilities (e.g. storage;
cooking) they have, and the client group they cater for. Ideally a food rescue service would determine each
agency’s needs and capacity, and match this with the food types and quantities they can access.
POTENTIAL FOOD DONORS
There are a range of potential food donors in and around Hamilton and the Waikato region who would be
interested in supporting a food rescue service. Those interviewed for this study represent only a sample of
potential donors, although they do cover a range of potential industries and organisations who could be
approached. Of those interviewed, some do not currently donate and would be interested in donating, and of
those that do donate some would consider expanding the food types they currently offer.
POTENTIAL SERVICE SET-UP
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As general guidelines , in terms of requirements and setting up, a service would initially need: (i) a facility for
receiving, sorting and storing the food and running the business (ii) at least one vehicle (ideally, refrigerated)
for picking up donations; (iii) a co-ordinator (0.5FTE) to set it up and run it; (iv) volunteers to collect and sort;
and (v) documentation (e.g. MOUs, application forms, food safety processes). As the service expands, the paid
staffing and volunteer numbers would increase in response to the larger operation.
While there is no requirement to be registered under the Food Hygiene Regulations Act 1974, it would be
recommended that a service have a food safety programme and clear processes and documentation to cover
responsibility.
The findings as to whether the service should be an independent service or part of an existing service were
mixed. The advantage to being part of an existing service were being able to utilise already-established
processes, links, and facilities, which could mean a faster establishment process and lower overall costs. The
identified disadvantages were that there may be conflicts of interest and/or kaupapa between a food rescue
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Please refer to the full report for more detail on approximate numbers.
There are some useful online and hardcopy resources about setting up a food rescue service.. As well, Kaibosh Food Rescue Wellington
has developed templates and documents and it is possible that these may be able to be made available to a new service, although the
level of cost for this would need to be discussed with Kaibosh directly.
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service and the existing agency, possible barriers for some donors if the agency was faith-based, and/or that
an existing organisation may not have the right ‘brand’ for a food rescue service.
The advantages to being an independent service were not having potential or perceived conflicts of interest,
being able to develop a service kaupapa and processes to fit its goals, and being able to brand and market
itself more effectively. The identified disadvantages of a new service were the potentially higher set-up costs,
and a longer lead-in time to develop processes, build contacts and get established.
Funding a service of this kind is likely to be a mixture of funding grants, sponsorship and/or donations, and
fundraising activities, and a food rescue service is in the position of being eligible both for waste minimisation
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/ environmental activities, and community / social service funding . The level of funding required to set up and
run a food rescue service, is dependent to some extent on what the service is going to be doing and whether it
is part of an existing service or is a new service.
Regardless of how a service might eventually be structured there are some key factors that would be
important. These include: (i) starting small and getting the processes in place before expanding; (ii) treating
donors professionally and being reliable; (iii) working ‘smart’ by focusing on larger donors with larger
quantities; (iv) making sure that the co-ordinator/manager has the right skill-set which includes, but is not
limited to, being highly organised, having fundraising skills, and most importantly very good communication
and relationship-building skills; and (v) ensuring that the branding, marketing and promotion help build a
profile which encourages donors and volunteers to participate.
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The research identified some possible sources of funding grants and these are detailed in the full report.