All you need to know about KaiGo

At Katikati Taiao, we believe that every issue in a community can often be solved by the community

KaiGo is a perfect example of this. KaiGo is a relatively new initiative that was launched by Katikati Taiao in June 2022 KaiGo is a food rescue project that collects and distributes food from local food donors that cannot be sold but is still edible

“KaiGo links in with the values of Rotary, so we were happy to help with initial funding and help the project get up and running,” says Katikati Rotary Club President and KaiGo volunteer John Bothwell “A big plus for us in the steering committee was that we got to see what those at Good Neighbour [Tauranga] and The Hub [Te Puke] were doing, they do all sorts of things in their community, and that’s what we can do here in the future”

KaiGo was developed to help feed more people in our community while also playing our part in reducing organic/food waste in landfills As KaiGo is a food distribution initiative, the main goal is to reduce the amount of food going into landfill, but being able to feed our community is a huge bonus Helping our recipient groups feed people in our community has been one of the most rewarding aspects of this project

“KaiGo has empowered us to help our people while increasing people’s quality of life,” says KaiGo recipient, Lindie De Toit “With the cost of living going up (rent, power, food), there’s really not much money left over for food Having food available really brings relief to these families ”

Currently, KaiGo receives food and other goodies from Countdown Katikati, Good Neighbour Tauranga and Bee NZ

Food that is received from our awesome donors is redistributed back to local food distribution organisations in the Katikati, Waihī and Waihī Beach areas

Although KaiGo is based in Katikati, they have been making weekly deliveries to organisations in Waihī KaiGo hopes to extend its services to the wider Western Bay of Plenty region over the coming year

Since opening in June 2022, KaiGo has redistributed over 21 tonnes of food back into our community Lindie also says, “It doesn’t matter how much or how little we get; they [KaiGo] always have something for me to give out”

KaiGo is ready to take on even more donors this year to increase these amounts of food for our community while taking an environmental stand against food waste in landfills

KaiGo is always looking for more local food donors, private food donations, and volunteers. You can get in touch with them at hello@katikatitaiao org or give them a call on 022 365 0703

Join the effort and make a difference in your community today by supporting KaiGo Article supplied

FreshChoice get on board

FreshChoice Ōmokoroa owner/ operator Steve Ling says he’s committed to supplying KaiGo and will be working with them to sort out the nuts and bolts of the process

“All going well, it will kick off towards the end of next week They are doing a bloody good job of looking after people in need, especially in tougher economic times

“If we can do something to help with that, it’s better to give edible food to people that can use it rather than to pigs Anything that benefits others, and helps each other to get stronger, has got to be good,” Steve tells Lizard News