Horowhenua Mana Kai Network

09/06/2026

A local crop swap is a quick and easy way to help community grow their own kai and share knowledge with resources at the same time. To help one another be more resilient against rising living costs.

We set one up at the Levin Uniting Saturday market and despite being a last minute arrangement we were able to provide 30 seedlings and connect with a dozen other growing enthusiasts.

What we want to know: Is anyone doing this already in the Levin community so we can support that or should we continue building?

Mana Kai can provide seasonal seeds and seedlings moving forward.

Sound off in the comments.

10/05/2026

Mana Kai Network partners had the pleasure of meeting with the team from Kaibosh last week.

Kaibosh are a food rescue organisation based in Wellington focusing on connecting surplus kai to community, needless to say both orgs have a lot in common.

Through a second harvest initiative (where volunteers work through a field collecting produce that was missed on the first run), kai that would have otherwise been wasted is sent to kai rescue oulets instead. Hope Hub Free Store are recipients of their big effort.

This is an amazing outcome for our community, huge appreciation to Luke, Keltie, Hane and the rest of the team at Kaibosh for the dedication and hardwork.

06/05/2026

Sometimes being busy trumps your goals towards eating healthier.

To get more shelf life out of your broccoli here's a storing tip.

- Store in cup water in the fridge
- Cut the stem on the diagonal

This broc is over a week old. Its still vibriant, the florets are remain tightly packed and the stem is not hollow. If you're not seeing these, your broc is on the way out!

The more you know.

03/05/2026

Working alongside Enviroschools gives us the opportunity to not only support māra kai being built but also contribute to supporting their school whānau in the kai space. Aspirationally speaking, together we're looking into māra being an educational space and potentially a kai production space.

There are some exciting conversations taking place with Levin and Levin North Primary with lead Enviroschool school lead kaiako Helen Robertson and Sarah-Jane Samuelu. Very future focused, one could even say community leading into terms of supplying kai for their school lunches and school whānau.

Here are some action shots from a working bee over the holidays setting up green houses and planter box gardens at both schools

28/04/2026

We all know many of our community organisations wouldn't run without our volunteers. They are part of lifestream we all depend on.

Jay Jay one of the many volunteers at Hope Hub has been indispensable in helping the team serve over 200 whānau accessing kai support.

He's upbeat, high energy and all round top bloke to work alongside side with.

Yeah the boys crew at Hope!

22/04/2026

Providing kai for our community also provides opportunity for our community to be more involved.

A small group of people through Hope Hub Free Store have come forward interested in processing and baking.

In 90 minutes they were able to process 4 big crates of donated feijoas into feijoa fizz and filling for feijoa crumble, next weeks activity.

Go team Hope!

21/04/2026

It was a pleasure supporting Sharon Williams and the Shannon Kai Hub launch the seed exchange yesterday.

If you're a new budding gardener or a seasoned pro (see what i did there), head on down to the Shannon Library where the exhange is based. Autumn and Winter seed varieties are now available.

Time your visit when Librarian Billy is there, he's is a walking encyclopedia of botanical knowledge.

Well done Sharon!

14/04/2026

We have many organisation's, food hubs, community gardens and schools that could benefit from this. You would you nominate?

CLOSED// Winners in comments.
🌱 Nominate to win! 🌱

With the rising cost of living, we want to help local communities grow and share their own food.

➡️ To enter: nominate a community group, garden, food bank, or school in the comments.

We’ll select 5 winners to receive a box of mixed seeds plus Tui Seed Raising Mix to help spread the goodness of growing and fresh food!

Entries close Monday 20th April 2026. Promotion not associated with Meta.

13/04/2026

Did you see last week's episode of country calendar? A showcase of what collaboration looks amongst small growers in the Wairarapa.

Could we do something similar here in Horowhenua? Could we take many little backyards and school māra to produce for our community?

Spoiler, we can and are. Enviroschool and Mana Kai working toward that this week. Post to follow!

GAn ex-lawyer creates a community of food producers to provide an affordable and resilient local food supply, to mend what she believes is a broken food system.

20/03/2026

Ngā mihi nui to our Horowhenua Kai Providers and Partners 💚

Thank you to everyone who attended the Horowhenua Mana Kai Network meeting and shared meal last night. It was fantastic to see so many across the kai sector come together — growers, providers, funders, community organisations, and partners — all united by a shared commitment to supporting our community.

We are incredibly grateful for the mahi you do every day and for the time you took to be part of the kōrero and connection last night.

Together, we are growing something special for our community.