Fair Food Matariki Awards 2024
Matariki is a time to celebrate – hard work of the harvest is over and it’s time to join together, share korero, kai, waiata and dream of what lies ahead.
We are pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Fair Food Matariki awards:
Tupu-a-rangi (outstanding volunteer of the year) – Mandy, James and Intelligent Environments. It was too hard to pick one volunteer this year so we separated it into three categories: the Conscious Kitchen, Food Sort and Corporate Group. Mandy has been one of our most bubbly and sought after regular volunteers. She prepares delicious meals, helps lead and induct new volunteers and brings so much joy to our Hub. James is always the first person to put his hand up to help us out when we need it. His superstar attitude and skills are greatly appreciated on our kai tables. Intelligent Environments are our fabulous Rosebank Road neighbours. They volunteer with us once a month, contribute to our Fair Food 40 programme, and are always nearby if we need a few more hands. Debbie pops by on her way home from work and collects compost for her goat Clifford.
Waiti (frontline charity of the year) – Waitākere Indian Association. Sunil and his team at WIA go above and beyond for their community. They create delicious meals from our “fit to cook” kai. Their pick up on Friday afternoons always brings a smile to our faces with Sunil’s latest news and Tik Tok trends. WIA volunteered with us earlier in the year and include us in their cultural celebrations, too.
Waita (sustainable food donor of the year ) – Farro Fresh. Farro Fresh have been our food donors since 2011! They continuously support Fair Food through regular volunteering, in store round ups and selling our merchandise. Their team gives us awesome rescued kai every single day. including from their purpose-built new store Smales Farm. Big ups to Farro Fresh for being our original #1 fan.
Hiwa-i-te-rangi (funder of the year) – Simplicity. Simplicity generously donates 15% of all fees to their Simplicity Foundation which supports charities across Aotearoa. In December their members generously helped us rescue food to share more than 15,000 meals as part of their Christmas Giving campaign.
We also hosted a staff Matariki awards to celebrate these Fair Food winners:
Matariki (passionately guiding and encouraging others) – Adele Duncan
Waipunarangi (demonstrating acts of kindness) – Matt Naber
Tupu-ā-nuku (focusing on the future of Fair Food) – Nickie Waddell
Ururangi (consistently having a superstar attitude) – Vasene Pua