Gilbert’s Fine Food
Kevin and Esther Gilbert have owned bakeries in Dunedin since 2006 and are one of our original food donors! They bake everything themselves, with a focus on “real” ingredients (no artificial additives/preservatives) and local.
Kevin and Esther have been fantastic to work with and over the past 10 years have donated approx. 17 tonnes of great food that would otherwise end up in landfill. “Our current business, Gilbert’s Fine Food, is on Otaki Street and at the Otago Farmers’ Market. We have a team of 8 great people, many of whom have been with us for years. Before we began working with KiwiHarvest, we had always struggled to find a good home for our end-of-day items. When KiwiHarvest (then FoodShare) began, we operated solely at the Otago Farmers’ Market, where we donated anything left at the end of the market to other hungry vendors. Once we opened our Otaki Street shop, we knew connecting with Deb and becoming part of the food rescue journey was the right thing to do.”
What have been some key highlights of this experience so far?
We love seeing good food going not to landfill but to help nourish the community. It’s also been a huge privilege to be a part of the KiwiHarvest journey – to see Deb go from collections made with her car to the enterprise that KiwiHarvest is now, is inspirational.
Hearing how people’s connection with, and understanding of, food has changed directly because of a delivery of our product through KiwiHarvest is amazing. That recipients’ lives are made better by such a simple act as donating food is insanely rewarding to us.
Being part of the fundraising initiatives has been an immense pleasure for our entire team, whether it was making 1,200 petit fours, giving cooking demonstrations, or leading CEOs through cooking for guests, being part of the KiwiHarvest story is something from which we all get a tremendous sense of satisfaction.
Why is striving for a sustainable business model important to you?
While we are aware that we can’t single-handedly solve all of the world’s sustainability challenges, we believe each one of us has a role to play, and donations to KiwiHarvest are one part of that. By helping in whatever ways we can, we believe we are making a positive change and it is a part of our business that we are proud of, part of our story that our team is proud to tell others about, and our customers truly appreciate.
What challenges has partnering with KiwiHarvest helped you to address?
Food waste has always been a huge concern for us and finding ways to reduce and eliminate it within our sphere of influence has been a constant challenge. Our partnership with KiwiHarvest has meant that, over the past 10 years, we have donated approx. 17 tonnes of great food that would otherwise have ended up in landfill.
We have enjoyed our partnership, especially also including various fundraising events held such as the Cadbury Chocolate Festival and grand dinners. We wish KiwiHarvest all the best for the next 10 years.
It’s been a rewarding journey so far, let’s see how we can change the world in the next 10 years.