Just Zilch - Food Rescue & Free Store

08/10/2026

Almost 1 tonne of cabbages was rescued and brought to Just Zilch on Tuesday! 🥬

A huge thank you to our amazing Second Harvest team, who worked alongside the wonderful team at Kaibosh to harvest and rescue this beautiful produce.

We’re also incredibly grateful to the farmers who let us harvest the cabbages rather than leaving them in the field to go to waste.

As you can see, these cabbages aren’t store-perfect but they are still good food and perfectly worth rescuing. And they certainly didn’t hang around! We put them out the front for people to grab, and they were gone in no time. ❤️

🌱 Are you a farmer, grower or orchardist with surplus produce? Maybe it’s not quite good enough for the supermarket shelf, you have produce left over after harvest, or simply don’t have enough people to pick it. If it’s still good to eat, we can help make sure it doesn’t go to waste. Please give us a call on 0225-972-569 or [email protected]

Our Second Harvest team will help harvest it and bring it to Just Zilch, where it can be shared with our community. Good food is too valuable to waste. 🥬❤️

06/10/2026

A heartfelt thank you to Foodstuffs North Island for their ongoing generosity and regular donations of stock to Just Zilch. 💚

Around 27% of the stock we receive comes from Foodstuffs, making a huge difference to what we’re able to offer through our store and to the many community groups we support across the region.

We’re also very grateful for their HereforNZ Community Fund, which directly supports the running costs of our food rescue operations and helps us keep doing what we do every day.

Thank you for being there for Just Zilch and helping us keep good food out of waste and into our community. ❤️

05/10/2026

School holidays are a great time to spend some time with nana! This young man came along to Just Zilch to help out with his nana. He picked up some rescued food to take with him and look what it became! 😍

How good is that! ❤️

Have you turned your Just Zilch goodies into a tasty meal? We’d love to see it! Share your “From Zilch to Meal” photos with us in the comments. 📸🍽️

04/10/2026

02/10/2026

We loved this video from Meridian Energy ❤️

A big thank you to the Meridian team for funding the solar panels at Just Zilch and for taking the time to share the story of what we do. We’re so grateful for their support - the solar panels are making a real difference to us.

It’s pretty special seeing the food rescue work at Just Zilch through their eyes - good food rescued, shared with our community, and kept out of waste.

Thanks again, Meridian! ❤️

01/10/2026

We gave out 45 tonnes of food during September, and almost 20 tonnes of that was fresh produce - potatoes, pumpkins, onions, cabbage, carrots, kiwifruit and plenty more. A lot of it came from farms, gardens, wholesalers and supermarkets. Some of it arrived in huge quantities, some in a few boxes, and some was simply someone saying, “We’ve got too much of this - can Zilch use it?”

Yes, we can! 😄

And the amazing thing is how quickly it all gets shared back out into the community. In September, we had 11,167 visits through our doors, with an average of 508 people a day coming in to collect food. And that doesn't even include the people who pop by just to grab some of the fresh produce we have out the front!

So when you see 45 tonnes of food, it really does make sense when you see how many people are coming through and how quickly the food gets picked up and shared.

A massive thank you to all the generous food donors who think of Just Zilch when they have surplus to share. Whether you're a farmer, supermarket, wholesaler, gardener, business or just someone with a bit too much growing in the backyard - thank you for helping us keep good food out of the waste stream and get it into the community instead.

And a heartfelt thank you to our volunteers who help pick up, sort, move and share all that food every day. We couldn't do it without you! ❤️

28/09/2026

Pumpkins and onions are out the front now!!! Who says spring is too late for a hearty pumpkin soup? 😉 Feel free to help yourself while they last, no need to queue up if you are just coming for these. Please take what your family can use, and be mindful of others so we can share the goodness around.

And a huge, heartfelt thank you to our amazing farmers who donate their surplus produce to Just Zilch and help make sure good food gets to our community instead of going to waste.

We’re so grateful for you! 🥰

24/09/2026

There are 37 food rescue organisations across New Zealand, and Just Zilch is one of them! We’re all doing our bit to make sure good food gets rescued, shared and enjoyed instead of going to waste.

Pretty cool to be part of it. 🥰🌱

23/09/2026

We’ve got heaps of lovely cabbages to give out today. If you’re coming in, make sure you grab one while they’re here. 😊 Some of the outer leaves are looking a little yellow, but don’t let that put you off - they’re beautiful and fresh inside! 💚

Wednesday reminder:
👵 The first shift 1 - 2pm is for seniors (65+) only
🕟 4.30–6.00pm is open to everyone

A big thank you to our amazing food donors for helping us get this beautiful produce into the hands of our community instead of going to waste. ❤️

And a huge thank you to our amazing volunteers for your beautiful smiles, great energy and big hearts! ❤️❤️❤️ We couldn’t do what we do without you!