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Writer's pictureMichal Garvey

Many Parts to the Puzzle: A Snapshot of Food Waste Prevention in Aotearoa


The food waste sector in Aotearoa is actually quite something. It’s an amazing and growing community and it’s also one of the best communities I’m part of. I’ve met so many incredible people through this mahi and am stoked to be able to call them friends, and not just like oh we kinda know each other friends, but friends I brunch with at the weekends or I’m in town for 2 days we must catch up friends. 



When I first started Foodprint, I was invited by Tessa Vincent (one of NZ’s food waste queens!) to join in several kōrero across the food sector. During many many online hui, a key theme was that we needed a definition for food waste as a foundation for much of the work being done. If we think about the global goal to halve food waste by 2030 (read more on that in Robyn’s piece published earlier in the week), well without a definition it’s really hard to know what to measure. After much work from the Ministry for the Environment (championed by Jenny Marshall and ex-Foodprinter Katie Bright) and in consultation with NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3, in November 2023, Aotearoa got a definition for food loss and waste. 


Aotearoa’s overarching definition of food loss and waste is:

Imported or domestically produced food and drink, including inedible parts, which leave the food supply chain from the point that crops and livestock are ready for harvest or slaughter onwards to the point of consumption, to be recycled, recovered or disposed of in Aotearoa New Zealand.

There are also individual definitions for each food loss and food waste. For more on this, see our previous blog here



Alongside the definition, the other key piece of work that has come out of the Ministry for the Environment in the last few years is its Transforming Recycling Consultation which you may remember us promoting, and subsequent Policy. While this is heavily focused on standardised national recycling, there is also a key focus on food waste. While some cities have had domestic food scrap collections for some time, Aucklanders have only enjoyed this service for just over a year and others are waiting for their rollout. We can’t wait to see this become standard across the country and for businesses to be required to separate their food scraps too. We’ve covered this in the past which you can check out here.



In April 2022, the Labour Government, commissioned the work of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor to look into food waste in Aotearoa.  The result is a series of 5 reports, with the final one being released earlier this year which included 26 recommendations to the government including the need to take a system-wide view of the issue; ensuring that the focus is in the right places, not always on consumers; better utilisation of data and halving our food loss and waste by 2030 and setting a zero food loss and waste target. The last one is in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.


Side note, I’m thankful that this work was able to be completed under the current government, but I’m incredibly disappointed that they have not yet appointed a new Chief Science Advisor now that Dame Juliet Gerrard has finished her term. 


In 2020, NZ Food Waste Champions was established, again thanks to Tessa Vincent. They are “a coalition of leaders from across the food supply chain, championing Aotearoa's progress towards halving food waste by 2030.”


Since 2021, this mahi has been led by the phenomenal Kaitlin Dawson and has resulted in the establishment of Kai Commitment. “A voluntary agreement for leading food businesses in Aotearoa to reduce food waste and related emissions, and contribute to a more efficient, resilient and sustainable food system.”


Voluntary agreements have come out of research by WRAP in the UK and have proven successful in several countries including the UK, Australia, Mexico and Indonesia.  


Kai Commitment was launched in November 2022, by then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and has grown to include eight of Aotearoa’s largest and leading food producers and suppliers. We look forward to their continued growth and results in working alongside these businesses.


Michal with then Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and other Food Waste Leaders at the launch of Kai Commitment.

Iain Lees-Galloway, Angie Warren Clark, Miranda Mirosa, Jacinda Ardern, Kaitlin Dawson, Danielle Le Gallais,

Dawn Hutchesson & Michal Garvey



In the aftermath of the first Covid lockdowns where food supply chains were disrupted and food insecurity skyrocketed with employment being reduced or cut for many of our most vulnerable. 


With food rescue organisations looking for government support, they were effectively told to come together under an umbrella, the result being the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance. The alliance acts as a voice for the sector, shares resources and best practices and boasts around 30 members. For more on food rescue organisations, see here


In addition to the work of the government and charities, there are many businesses throughout the motu also working to reduce food waste alongside Foodprint. We have those rescuing fruit and vegetables not deemed pretty enough for the supermarket such as Misfit Garden (if you’re in Taupō check them on the app!), Wonky Box and Perfectly Imperfect. Rescued Kitchen takes surplus supermarket bread and upcycles it into baking mixes for you to purchase. While Rescued Kitchen is keeping the bread in baking, Citizen is turning it into beer and then back into bread. 


As you can see, there is loads of work going on to reduce food waste across the country and I’ve only managed to include a small snapshot here. For more, see the map below, another piece by the NZ Food Waste Champions.



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