Kaibosh Food Rescue is delighted to announce we are finalists in the 2012 Ministry of Environment Green Ribbon Awards, in the waste minimisation category.

The awards honour outstanding contributions to protecting New Zealand’s environment.

“The awards reflect the broad range of environmental challenges that New Zealand faces and the actions being taken to address them,” says Amy Adams, Environment Minister.

“Tackling environmental issues is not easy. It takes initiative and dedication. “The awards pay homage to the incredible efforts being undertaken in homes, schools, communities and workplaces to address the environmental challenges we face.”

The finalists will attend an awards ceremony at Parliament Buildings on 5 June.

Cross your fingers for us!

We are humbled by the support the Wellington community has shown us since our MMM campaign last year, and are stoked with how Kaibosh has grown since then.

We are asking Wellingtonians to help us to keep rescuing food for those in need by supporting our Miss A Meal in May appeal.

This year, we want to raise $20 000 for a walk-in cool room to be installed at Kaibosh HQ. We need additional storage space to cope with the increasing supply of and demand for the perishable food we rescue, so we can keep this food as fresh as possible before it is distributed to charities around Wellington and sent out in food parcels or eaten at drop-in or community centres.

We ask that during the month of May, Kaibosh supporters donate the money they would spend on one restaurant or café meal to us.

We also encourage supporters to participate in this drive by coming up with their own creative mini-fundraisers, or getting involved with others’ events. Some mini-fundraiser ideas are:

·         Raffles
·         Bake sales
·         Preserves sales
·         Sausage sizzles
·         Mufti day/casual Friday
·         Produce sale/swap/workplace market
·         Workplace trivia
·         Workplace pot-luck lunch
·         Trade Me auctions donating proceeds to Kaibosh

Supporters can donate funds towards the cool room via our Givealittle webpage by clicking here:

Any individual or organisation that donates $1000 or more towards our MMM campaign will have their name/logo emblazoned on our Kaibosh chiller truck as a 2012 Food Rescue Hero. Your name/logo will be seen all over Wellington as we drive around rescuing food- it’s a great way to show your support for Kaibosh, while promoting your organisation at the same time.

Thank you for your support. Please email mmm@kaibosh.org.nz if you have any queries or if you would like a PDF file of our MMM flyer or poster.

Please email us any photos or stories of your MMM fundraising events- we’d love to hear what you’re up to!

The money was donated to their food banks and will be used to buy non-perishable food to stock their near-empty shelves. WCM Food Bank Manager Sharon Howlett was humbled by the generosity shown by those who attended the fundraising gig, saying the donation ‘couldn’t have come at a better time’.

Food parcels are used to make sure needy Wellingtonians’ have essential things like cereals, spreads, dry and canned goods. When stocks fall low, food banks are often forced to dip into operational costs to purchase food for food parcels and meals at drop-in centres. This is disadvantageous, because the money is diverted from essential service areas, such as budgeting, mental health and addiction support.

Kaibosh Food Rescue supports the WCM and the DCM with donations of up to 250kg per week of fresh, perishable food: produce rescued from the Newtown and Harbourside weekend markets, fresh bread and baked goods, and other ready-to-eat packaged foods such as sandwiches and ready meals.

Special thanks to Sally Thomson, manager extraordinaire at the Mighty Mighty for her unwavering compassion and generosity; Anna Dean, PR guru, for her publicity and promotional skills and support; the bands, Ten Thousand Mix Tapes and the Raskolnikovs and everyone who came along or donated to the cause on our Givealittle website. We are grateful for your support and encouragement.

If you would like to support Kaibosh Food Rescue, check out our Miss a Meal in May appeal by clicking here.

Sally Thomson, Stephanie McIntyre and Anna Mathieson donate $1000, which will be used to put more on the shelves at the Downtown Community Ministry food bank.

Sally, Sharon Howlett and Anna at the Wellington City Mission food bank.

Join us this Saturday for Music for Food, a collaborative fundraising event hosted by Kaibosh Food Rescue and Mighty Mighty.

Sally Thomson, award-winning bar manager of Mighty Mighty on Cuba St, was so outraged by the outpouring of grief around the death of Wellington homeless man Ben Hana, better known as ‘Blanket Man’ earlier this year that she decided to do something about it.

“I wasn’t outraged about people’s sadness, but what I found hard to take was the outpouring of sentiment that all seemed a little too late to me. Many of the people I saw commenting on facebook or talking about it seemed completely unaware of the other hundreds of people living below the poverty line around Wellington all of the time. ”

Sally decided to do something about it and realised the bar was receiving regular calls from different foodbanks needing sponsorship in Wellington. “There was a marked increase in calls and it was obvious there are so many hungry people out there and their cupboards are bare. I met Anna (Operations Manager at Kaibosh) and we came up with the idea.”

On Saturday 31 March 2012 a fundraiser gig Music For Food will be held at Mighty Mighty to raise money and awareness for homelessness, food security and poverty in general in the Wellington area.

“All the takings on the night from the door will be split between Downtown Community Mission and the Wellington City Mission. Punters will also have the opportunity to donate to Kaibosh on the night. People will also be invited to donate to the cause if they are unable to attend on the night.”

Two local bands have been hand-picked by Thomson to support the cause, The Raskolnikovs, a Mighty Mighty favourite and the debut of a new band Ten Thousand Mixtapes.

Those who cannot attend the fundraiser gig at the Mighty Mighty are also invited to donate the $10 admission price directly to www.givealittle.co.nz/org/kaiboshnz

A huge congratulations to Robyn, our co-founder and chairwoman of the Board of Trustees for her Kiwibank Local Hero medal.

Robyn was honoured at the Kiwibank Local Heroes Medal presentation on Tuesday 20 March in Wellington. Kiwibank Local Hero awards are established to foster pride and recognition of those who work tirelessly in the community to create exceptional changes and make a positive difference.

The award was presented by Mayor of Wellington Celia Wade-Brown and Paul Brock of Kiwibank. The award recognises extraordinary people who are passionate about making personal sacrifices to improve the lives of others.

This award is testament to Robyn’s tireless commitment and contribution to Kaibosh Food Rescue and greater Wellington community. Congratulations and thank you Robyn for all of your behind-the-scenes work.

Robyn receives her Kiwibank Local Hero medal with Peter Brock (Kiwibank) and Celia Wade-Brown, Mayor of Wellington

Anna, George, Li Ling and Elyana from Kaibosh Food Rescue

This award is testament to the hard work of our incredible team of
volunteers: a huge thanks goes out to you- we couldn’t do it without you!
We’d also like to thank our food donors, funders and supporters for their
generosity and support.

Thank you to:

Our generous food donors:
* Wishbone
* Simply Paris
* Urban Harvest
* Newtown Farmers’ Market
* City Market
* Bordeaux Bakery
* Pure Bread
* Wishbone Kitchen
* Green Juice Inc
* Celcius Coffee
* Commonsense Organics

Our fabulous funding partners
* Wellington City Council
* Pelorus Trust
* NZ Lottery Grants Board
* Harcourts Foundation
* COGS
* The Restaurant Association of New Zealand (Wellington Branch)
* Nikau Foundation
* Ministry of Social Development
* Thomas George Macarthy Trust
* New Zealand Post

A hearty congratulations goes out to our friends at [3]350 Aotearoa, who won
the SBN Social Innovation category prize. It’s fantastic to see
Wellington-based organisations winning both awards in the Social Innovation
category: the coolest little capital in the world is leading the way in the
sustainable realm!

It was great to spend a day in Auckland attending the Awards Ceremony and to have the opportunity to meet members of the Sustainable Business Network at the Sustainable City Showcase at Shed 10. It was humbling and inspiring to see so many people leading the way and making a positive contribution to New Zealand’s economy, environment and culture. Thank you, Sustainable Business Network, NZI and the SBN funding partners for hosting a fabulous event.

This new award recognises outstanding programmes, innovations or businesses that use entrepreneurship to meet pressing social needs through research, collaboration, creating new ventures, and working with community groups and public agencies.

Congratulations to the Kaibosh team, and many thanks to our staff, supporters and amazing volunteers for their enthusiasm and dedication. The award ceremony is in Auckland Tuesday 8 November… keep your fingers crossed!

This is a huge achievement and testament to Robyn’s hard work and effort.

Congratulations to Robyn and all Wellingtonian of the Year nominees.

Wellingtonian of the Year nominees