New Zealand: How a free grocery store is cutting food waste – and hunger

Each weeknight, The Free Store redistributes up to 1,500 surplus food items to anyone who wants them – no questions asked.

By Rina Diane Caballar – September 14, 2017 | NationofChange-SOURCE  –YES! Magazine

Image credit: Benjamin Johnson

On a windy late afternoon, dozens of people have lined up in front of a 20-foot-long re-purposed shipping container situated on a church parking lot. Inside, volunteers are unloading food items from custom-built shopping carts and stacking them onto rows of shelves.

There are hearty rice meals and healthy salads, thick sandwiches, pies, and other savory and sweet items. This is just another busy day for The Free Store.    

The Free Store is a nonprofit organization that redistributes surplus food from local businesses in New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington, to those in need. It was inspired by a two-week art project in 2010 where artist Kim Paton filled a shop with surplus food items from bakeries and supermarkets. Anyone visiting the shop could take what they wanted free of charge.  Read more