Food for a good cause
Whether diving into the local café mid-afternoon, or languishing around in the latest culinary hotspot mid-evening, food and its consumption has long been considered a fairly selfish affair, driven not so much by subsistence, but rather an immutable desire to tip the scales in favour of enjoyment.
However, an increasing number of organisations – both local and national – are serving more than just food and drink, as they increasingly seek to serve vulnerable members of our community too.
EAT MY LUNCH
Simple, but effective, Eat my Lunch is actively filling empty tummies. Every lunch you order through the website, the organisation gives lunch to a Kiwi kid who would otherwise go without.
It’s a little gesture that’s had a great impact on so many Kiwi children. With a good lunch in their tummies, they do better in so many ways, through focusing on learning to simply giving them something to smile about.
One in four Kiwi kids (approx. 290,000) live in poverty and thousands go to school without lunch every day. Eat my Lunch is designed to help change this by making it easier for Kiwis to help Kiwis.
www.eatmylunch.nz
CULTIVATE CHRISTCHURCH
Fiona Stewart (nee Hargreaves), a youth worker, and Bailey Peryman, an ecologist, came together via Vodafone NZ Foundation.
Both were “World of Difference” grant recipients. They spotted a cross-over in their work and after a one-hour chat over coffee, the pair knew that their purposes were aligned and Cultivate Christchurch was born.
Now they are supporting the Christchurch community by providing work experience and teaching skills to young people in need through a series of local urban farms.
“A plant will always strive to be the best version of itself. Our role as farmers and gardeners is to create the conditions that allow that to happen,” Bailey Peryman says.
“The same goes for nurturing people.”
www.cultivate.org.nz
27 SECONDS
A collaboration between two North Canterbury wineries, a grape harvesting company and several other generous donors is producing wine with a difference and the couple behind the project-turned-wine-label are still reeling from its early success.
Alanna and Pete Chapman initially started 27Seconds as a one-off fundraiser for Hagar – an international NGO that helps survivors of modern-day slavery.
“We wanted to help so we created delicious wine, where 100 percent of the profits go to survivors,” Alanna says.
“We love the idea that something accessible, like wine, can be used for good. It empowers people to make a difference through just a single choice.”
www.27seconds.co.nz
CITY HARVEST FOOD RESCUE
At City Harvest, they’re on a mission to get all quality surplus food in Canterbury to those who need it most. Think of it as a ‘My Food Bag’ for surplus food!
City Harvest Food Rescue puts surplus food to good use in a sustainable way, getting quality surplus food from food retailers, supermarkets, wholesalers, restaurants, caterers, universities and other food providers safely to the hungry.
