"Would a picky five year old eat this? If it's a no, then it's not going in the box."

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Photo by Sinead Marsh

LEIGH HEIGHWAY started volunteering at Wellington’s Kaibosh, a food saving operation run by volunteers, almost two years ago. Volunteering for the organisation is flexible depending on the amount of food to sort, volunteer threshold and work speed, and the meticulous nature of each task. Shifts can last anywhere from one to three hours long. Van delivery runs in the morning always start with a, “Ready to make a difference?” from Scott, a Kaibosh Food Rescue Driver.

Everyone involved at the organisation is approachable and friendly. “The people at Kaibosh are the people who are gonna say hi to you on the street, say hi to anyone - maybe before I worked here, I wouldn’t have done that.” Community seems to strengthen over food and compassion.

Leigh always makes Kaibosh a priority when she can. “I like to work around it; it’s something I’ve had in my routine for so long. When I got my first job I made sure to make room for my shifts here.” Leigh’s availability has made a huge difference to the operations of Kaibosh. “I try and help out in every way that I can, by whatever; picking up shifts that someone’s unable to make or when they need an extra hand, I’m always there to help.” Without her contribution it’s possible that more food would go to waste and the team would be stretched for resources.

When there are difficult days, considering who is being affected positively by the work and the communities getting help, raises the vibration. It makes putting in the extra effort easy even when energy levels are low, “almost like self care in a way.”

Food poverty is a large problem in Aotearoa. So many people don’t have enough food, even though communities have the food in their system to supply them. The current capitalist system, driven by profit and greed, create major barriers to achieving food sovereignty. Food rescue and saving initiatives are widely misunderstood, “People think that we take actual trash. It’s great produce, still taken from the shelf, there’s so much care and thought put into ensuring the quality is always good.” Kaibosh volunteers hand pick everything that goes out into the community. “One of my favourite things to ask myself when I’m packing is, 'Would a picky five year old eat this?' If it’s a no, then it’s not going in the box.”

Kaibosh has highlighted how many organisations out there help reduce waste and make food available, in Wellington and worldwide. “I’ve gained perspective of how many people do need help and what’s out there.” Kaibosh hopes to see more locations, zero food waste, and more community engagement and resources in the future.