2020 AWARDS

Winners

Supreme Winner - Fair Food Charitable Trust

Professor Ray Geor says, “Fair Food Charitable Trust embody the Kiwi spirit that the New Zealand Food Awards and the NZ Food Heroes campaign stand for. They combined sustainability, business innovation, excellent team work and leadership - all while caring for the vulnerable in their time of need. Taking a purely mobile model that delivered 121 tonnes of food in 2019, to a distribution model with four sites to deliver 143 tonnes of food per month during lockdown, is nothing short of exceptional.”

People’s Choice - Supreme Sikh Society

The group gave out free meals to 66,000 families from Auckland to Queenstown who were impacted by the lockdown. The judges said “The scale of charity and compassion to vulnerable communities by the Supreme Sikh Society is impressive. Their timely and valuable response to the challenges of Covid show a dedication to the greater good.”

The Dream Team - Waitarere Beach Four Square staff

This team met the local community’s needs every day, especially the elderly and vulnerable, thus keeping them safe. The judges said it was “a unique, local and amazing story of Kiwi community spirit.”

Greater Good - Fair Food Charitable Trust

Fair Food successfully coordinated national food rescue, redistributing more than 400,000 meals per month to those in need, scaling up their infrastructure significantly. The judges said, “Fair Food Charitable Trust demonstrated excellent team work and leadership in order to significantly upscale a food rescue and distribution service to provide food for more than 20,000 people in need a week.”

Local Hero - Diana Greer

Diana’s “The Collective Hug” was a huge voluntary effort, packing and delivering donated food to struggling Hawke’s Bay farmers. The judges said it was an “amazing idea and initiative from Diana to develop the Collective Hug group. It is important to recognise in times of such stress food is an indication of aroha.”

Innovators - SOS Café

David Downs set up SOS Café to support local cafes and restaurants. Vouchers could be bought online for a future visit. The judges said it was “an amazing initiative that provided much needed cash and support to local cafés.”

Industry Supporter - Restaurant Association of New Zealand

The Restaurant Association of New Zealand provided their members with legal updates, training/advice during lockdown and forwarded concerns to the Government. The judges said "They were heroes for their nationwide industry members. They lobbied for wage support, provided navigation of legal matters, much needed encouragement and even found the time to provide training webinars for their members to use the lockdown time effectively. Truly impressive!” 

Outstanding Service - New World Foxton

The store offered phone call orders, extra deliveries and ready made meals as well as donating to charitable organisations. The judges said “They already have a great team that engage with the community. They managed to do it all - they continued to support the food chain industry, adapt their services and they worked it out! They picked up donations to food banks and women’s refuges. They helped and supported the community going above and beyond.”

Finalists