About Kairos Food Rescue
Rescue Food, Feed people, Build community
Kairos Food Rescue
Kai•ros
(Greek)
The perfect or
opportune moment
Kairos Food Rescue began in 2018 with an idea. Cafe manager, Beth Hutt, was dismayed by the amount of food wasted at the end of the day in the cafe industry, and thought she might be able to do something about it. With some help and a donated shipping container, Beth rescued leftover cafe food from the tip and made it available to anyone who wanted it. Read more about our history.
Over time, Kairos grew to become a large scale food rescue organisation, rescue surplus food from farms and food wholesalers and retailers, as well as local restaurants and cafes.
Faith • Family • Connection
Stewardship
Embracing • hospitality
Our Values
Practice sustainability and have a positive impact on the environment.
Create a space where everyone is welcome.
To see food going into the hands of people and create an inclusive, beautiful community.
Embody manaakitanga (care of relationships) and kotahitanga (unity) to show our community what true hospitality looks like, and to accept that there is unity in diversity.
Be relational, not transactional, and have a space where you can come as you are; no questions asked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get a food parcel?
Kairos Food Rescue does not provide food parcels. We work with and supply local food banks for distribution of food to the community.
Find a food bank
Where does the food come from?
We try to rescue from food as many sources of potential waste as possible.
These include:
Short-dated stock from supermarkets and other bulk food providers. We are proud to collaborate with Woolworths NZ to combat food waste in this industry and collect from Woolworths and Pak’n’Save stores across Christchurch.
Unsold produce from farms. Farms are often unable to sell some of their produce do to it being the wrong shape or colour for market standards.
Leftover cafe or restaurant food. Food outlets are required to dispose of unsold food at the end of the business day. We take this food off their hands, where it can be immediately distributed to the hungry or frozen for future use.
What is the Free Store?
Kairos operates a Free Store twice a week from our warehouse on 284 Tuam Street. Anyone is welcome to come during our opening hours to fill a bag with whatever food we have in stock.
Open Hours
Mondays and Friday, 5:30 - 6:30 pm
Wednesday, 4:30 - 5:30 pm
Showers and laundry with Orange Sky, Mondays and Fridays at 4:30pm
Closed public holidays.
How can I volunteer?
We love our volunteers and would not exist without them! There are many opportunities to volunteer, from picking up donated food from our suppliers, to packing it up for food banks in our warehouse or volunteering in our Free Store.
You will need to complete our volunteer form. Our Volunteer Coordinator will contact you and walk you through the requirements. You will be required to pass a police check.
Do you only operate in Christchurch?
Kairos Food Rescue is based in Christchurch. Through our association with Satisfy Food Rescue in Kaiapoi, we are able to provide food rescue services throughout Canterbury.
The Kairos Story.
Beth Hutt worked as a barista trainer, travelling to various Christchurch cafés and teaching staff how to make coffee. She was apalled at the amount of food wasted after not having been sold by the end of the day. She saw people on the street begging for food.
Beth realised she had an opportune moment, a way of solving two problems at once. All she had to do was find a way to distribute the food that would have gone to landfill and put it in the hands of people who needed it.
Beth found some cafes who were happy to get involved. She rented a small place where Kairos first operated two nights a week.
During this time, Stu Ennor left his job, feeling called to do something in the community. He was asked to take over Kairos when Beth moved away from Christchurch.
Stu started Kairos Charitable Trust in partnership with Grace Vineyard Church. Kairos was now opening its doors three nights each week.
Stu had a dream where he was looking down from the ceiling of his church, watching people below him put things in boxes. A week later, the COVID pandemic sent the country into its first lockdown. Stu knew that Kairos’ role during this time would be to pack food parcels. Volunteers came to pack and deliver them.
Through Stu’s networks with Compassion Trust, he realised there was an oversupply of groups providing food parcels and better organisation was needed in order to ensure responsible distribution of resources. The Christchurch Food Bank Network was formed.
Kairos’ role in the community continued to evolve after the pandemic. “That’s when we got the phone call,” Stu remembers. “Hey, would you like 17 pallets of tinned tomatoes?”
Stu realised that the way Kairos needed to collect food was changing. Many cafes had shut as a result of the lockdowns. Meanwhile the demand for food was greater than ever before. Kairos began inviting donations of bulk food from suppliers like grocery store chains and food producers and wholesalers. Instead of just cafe food, Kairos was able to increase its offerings to include produce, meat and even dog biscuit.
Kairos has grown from a handful of volunteers to eleven full-time and part-time staff. They supply over 59 reputable food banks and groups in Christchurch and are involved with other food rescue and food banks, both locally and nationally.
“When you combine hungry people in the community, the masses of quality, wasted food from cafes & eateries daily + passionate people who want to get involved. Something beautiful is bound to happen...”
— Beth Hutt, Founder of Kairos Free Store
Get Involved
Helping out at the Kairos Food Rescue is very rewarding.
There are lots of ways that you can support the work. Whether you are passionate about zero food waste, sustainability or supporting people in the community, there are opportunities to support the work. We have opportunities for both volunteering and supporting the work financially.