First Community Partnership grant awarded

06 Nov 2024

ECCT's first Community Partnership grant was recently awarded to Nourished for Nil (NFN) in Hawke's Bay. The grant, totaling $297,580 over three years, aims to drive significant impact in food rescue and food bank initiatives in the Hastings and Napier communities.

The partnership aligns ECCT’s goal of funding large-scale projects that effect transformational change for the people, whānau, communities, and places where the need is greatest, with Nourished for Nil’s commitment to combating food waste and food insecurity.

Christina McBeth, the founder of Nourished for Nil, expressed gratitude to the Eastern & Central Community Trust for partnering with them. She shared "The assurance of regular funding enables us to plan long-term strategies and projects without the constant worry of securing the next funding source. This provides us confidence that the meaningful impact we are having in our local communities will continue".

About Nourished for Nil
Nourished for Nil volunteers collect surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and distribute it free of charge to the community.

The food distributed through the service has been donated by local growers, manufacturers, supermarkets and cafes who support the charity’s aims of reducing food waste and supporting local communities.

In 2023, Nourished for Nil rescued over 800 tonnes of surplus food from producers and distributed more than 82,000 food parcels. There are no eligibility criteria for receiving a parcel of rescued food, with everyone in the community welcome. People can find out more about service details at Nourished for Nil.