There was a series of hui about what's going wrong in our food system. The system we're in is global but we're working with local people. One of the areas identified as a bit of a gap was a central place where people can gather, cook together and bring food they rescue or from their fruit trees. So that's what we thought would be a good first step, to shift our kai system to a regenerative approach. We've had a lot of support and we've saved over 10 tonnes of food from going to landfill so far.
What is Kai Hub working on?
At the moment we're pulling together an events programme for the summer, which will be focusing on things like fermenting, preserving and cooking.
What's something a household can start doing to reduce their own food waste?
It's a bit boring but probably meal planning. Just buying what you need for those meals and you can top it up and stuff, but often people will fill the fridge, then stuff just sits at the back and goes bad. I think a lot of it is just about being aware of what you've got and then being realistic about whether you're going to get around to using it. And if you're not, give it away.
Another option is to start composting so that even if you have food waste you can see it and use it. Often it's an invisible problem when people just chuck it in the black bag.
What is the importance of community connection in the future of food resilience?
Local connection is really important. You can bring food to Kai Hub, but you can also give it to your neighbour. Being connected to each other is something we want to support. We have about 250 people visit our Kai Hub pantry a week and when they do we tell them to take something for their neighbour and offer it to them. There are people with loaded fruit trees that may not have the time to harvest it, and there are people just down the road who could use that food but they don't know each other.
What's your vision for the future of the Kai Hub?
We'd love to work ourselves out of a job. We will know when there's no more food waste coming in any more. That's when we can shift to other things like more celebration of local food and connection.
What's your view on dumpster diving?
Well, I think throwing good food in the bin should be illegal in the first place, and it soon will be. There are new laws coming in the next few years. I can totally understand people wanting to dumpster dive and using those resources. I don't know about the legal status of it in New Zealand. The legality of it is because technically as soon as the food enters the bin, it's owned by the bin company. So the property of the food shifts from, say, the supermarket to the landfill company. But landfills are a huge issue and the less stuff that goes in them the better. Kai Hub doesn't have an official position on dumpster diving but that's my two cents.
I remember some friends of mine in Edinburgh went dumpster diving and a supermarket had chucked out all this fish and shellfish because its freezer broke. It was still all in ice so it was fine, and once they tallied up everything they got from the dumpster it came to over $2000. They chucked it in their freezer and had barbecues with it all summer. It was great.
Do you have any other handy tips to save money on food?
You can save a lot of money by cooking your own lunches instead of buying it. Budgeting is also important. If you have an actual budget and try to stick to it, it can be super-helpful. City Mission does some good work there to help people construct a budget if you're on a lower income. There are loads of good resources also on the AFRA website and the Love Food Hate Waste website too.
