Kaibosh

We put some
questions to Matt
Dagger on your
behalf.
What does Kaibosh do?
“We collaborate with food retailers
to prevent surplus food that’s good
enough to eat, but not good enough
to sell, from being discarded
into landfills. We redistribute this
food to charities that work with
individuals and families who are
struggling to make ends meet”,
explains Matt. “In the past twelve
months we’ve rescued 53,000 kg of
good food from being needlessly
thrown away and ensured that it
has reached those who need it
most. We’ve achieved this by being
the link between 19 different food
retailers/producers and 17 different
Wellington charities.”
Why do businesses
donate?
“I believe that the key motivator is
a desire to prevent needless waste,
even though there may not be a huge
financial benefit to them. Businesses
also seem to appreciate that many
people are struggling to make ends
meet and this is one way they can do
their bit to help” says Matt.
Other motivators include:
• It's free! Surplus food is collected
at no cost to the business.
• It’s easy! It's no different to
throwing food away. Instead
of throwing food into a
bin, businesses put it into a
cardboard box or bag ready for
pick up. We also work to the
businesses' schedule and collect
their surplus food when it's most
convenient for them.
• Donating businesses attract
more customers. Supporters of
Kaibosh also want to support
the other businesses that
donate to us.
• Donating increases the value of
their brand. Customers love that
businesses are reducing waste
and donating to charity at the
same time.
• Donating surplus food is great
for staff morale and buy-in.
Why don’t more
businesses donate?
“There’s a wide range of reasons
why businesses don’t get involved,
but a key one seems to be a lack
of awareness. Despite our track
record, success and very best
promotional efforts there are still
many who aren’t aware of food
rescue as a viable alternative to the
rubbish bin”, says Matt.
Staffing constraints can be a
barrier. “Operating a food rescue
programme does require a small
amount of employee time, though
probably no more than just tossing
it in the bin. However some
businesses don’t want to spend
more time managing something
that in their minds is a waste
product. So a key thing is trying to
get them to understand that this
isn’t waste, it’s actually a valuable
resource which can make a real
difference in our community.”
“Naturally there are also some
compliance concerns”, says Matt.
“This can include businesses not
understanding the difference
between best-before and use-by
dates on food items, concerns about
food safety and donor liability, or
not having an organisational food
donation policy.”
“These are generally relatively
minor things which can all
be overcome; however it can
sometimes just seem too hard for
businesses.”
While still in its fledgling stages in
New Zealand, food rescue is set to
grow. There are already operations
in Dunedin (FoodShare), West
Auckland (Fair Food), Christchurch
(0800 HUNGRY) and Palmerston
North (Just Zilch) to name but a few.
If there is a food rescue
organisation in your area then
please support it, as your efforts
can make a real difference. And
if there’s not, why not consider
starting one? To help you Kaibosh
have developed this simple guide
to starting up a food rescue
organisation: http://bit.ly/kaibosh
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