Locals can expect to see KiwiHarvest’s new dedicated Wānaka collection truck - ‘Lilly’ - around town, transporting surplus food to those who need it most.

Lilly made her first collection on Friday (January 24), marking a milestone for the food rescue charity’s expanding local operation, KiwiHarvest Queenstown branch manager Gary Gough said.

KiwiHarvest is a national organisation that collects excess food from businesses and donates it to community groups providing food to people in need.

The Wānaka arm of KiwiHarvest began around two years ago, with six dedicated volunteers who have used their own vehicles and fuel to collect and deliver food each week. 

Since then, they have rescued about 15,000 kilograms of food - roughly equivalent to 34,000 meals - and delivered it to groups such as Community LINK, Food for Love, and Kahu Youth Trust.

Gary said Lilly’s arrival will significantly increase the collection capacity in Wānaka and allow for the collection of refrigerated food for the first time. 

Wānaka donations are currently being supplemented by collections from Queenstown, Gary said, and “we want to get to a point where we are closer to Wānaka supporting Wānaka”.

Another initiative to help close that gap is cafe collections, which are scheduled to begin in March.

They will be modelled on the Queenstown operation, where volunteers use a KiwiHarvest e-bike to visit cafes and collect excess cabinet food.

KiwiHarvest is helping to support a seemingly ever-growing need in Wānaka.

The number of people supported by Community LINK’s food bank doubled in the last year, Community LINK food security coordinator Yvonne Walker said, and food provided by KiwiHarvest makes up a significant portion of its food parcels.

“We couldn’t survive without KiwiHarvest,” she said.

Food for For Love, which provides free home-cooked meals to people going through a difficult time, similarly “couldn’t do it without KiwiHarvest,” operations manager Bex Sarginson said.

KiwiHarvest celebrated Lilly’s arrival on Friday (January 24) with a gathering of donor businesses, volunteers, community groups, and members of the KiwiHarvest team.

PHOTO: Wānaka App