Good Neighbour aims to bring the word 'neighbour' back to the Bay of Plenty.
Its six departments cover food rescue, neighbourhood projects, community gardens, firewood, a community kitchen and a care team that helps people not just survive, but thrive. Each initiative is guided by a simple principle: give, serve, and make someone's day.
Each year, Good Neighbour rescues an average of $4.8 million worth of food that's good enough to eat but not to sell. In the community kitchen, volunteers and people on training and skill-building programmes turn it into meals and food parcels for those who need them.
$45,250 from the Community Decarbonisation Fund has helped Good Neighbour install solar and battery storage at its community hub. The new system powers the refrigeration and freezers that keep the food rescue operation running, cutting power costs and saving 39 tonnes of carbon a year.
