Find food assistance in your community

While our map is comprehensive, it is not exhaustive and we’d encourage you to look at the Ministry of Social Development’s Community Food Services Directory.

Community Food Organisations

Across Aotearoa New Zealand, communities are working together to support those who do not have access to healthy nutritious affordable food. We have responded to this in a variety of ways, and are choosing to centre our map on those organisations providing immediate food assistance to whānau. These include community meals and free stores, food co-ops operating a low-cost or koha model for fresh produce, as well as more traditional foodbanks and social supermarkets offering food parcels, budgeting support and more.

Help grow the map

If you are a foodbank, free store, food co-op or community meal provider not currently listed on the map, please click the button to fill out the survey link and we’ll add you to the database.

Community Food Organisations

  • Foodbank

    A food bank is where food (usually non-perishable items) and household items (cleaning products, toiletries etc), and in some cases, perishable items (fresh produce, bread etc) are stored and distributed to whānau and individuals in need by way of a food parcel. Food parcels are usually distributed after an assessment (formally or informally) of need.

  • Community Meals

    Sharing kai, developing relationships and creating community is at the heart of preparing and serving community meals. There are numerous ways of providing meals in the community - from delivery of frozen meals to people at their home, through to preparing and sitting down together to share a meal with others, in a community facility.

  • Food Co-ops

    Food Co-ops operate on a social enterprise model where people become members and are able to purchase fresh produce and other foodstuffs from growers and producers more directly, at heavily discounted prices.

  • Social Supermarket

    Social Supermarkets are a post-pandemic alternative to the traditional food bank approach, providing food support with greater levels of choice and dignity. People experiencing food insecurity choose what they need for themselves using a low or no-cost points-based system in a supermarket-style environment. This enables them to choose items that meet the specific dietary, cultural, and personal needs for their whānau.

  • Free Stores

    Free Stores freely distribute surplus food from hospitality businesses and food rescue directly to people who need it. Offering an inclusive space where anyone is welcome to access quality food at no cost.


Community Food Initiatives

  • Pātaka Kai vary in size from a community fridge to a large store house. They are usually a place where non-perishable and fresh foods are received, stored, distributed and shared, and replenished, from within a community. A key element of pātaka kai is a relational element to the way they operate within the community, including opportunities to give back.

    The New Zealand Fruit and Food Share Map shows you the location of pātaka kai near you. Set up by Community Builders NZ.

  • Community gardens, orchards and food forests are usually found in a shared, semi-public / fully public space where people living in the surrounding communities are able to participate in the growing, care and consumption of the fresh produce harvested.

    Māra kai are the common gardens that are connected to Mārae who grow food with emphasis on growing traditional, Indigenous kai, such as kumara, Māori potato varieties and kamokamo. The exchange of knowledge and learning matauranga Māori is woven throughout the process of growing, harvesting and consumption of the kai.

    Check your local council and iwi websites for resources on these initiatives operating in your local area. We also have more information on our Kai Strategies page.

    Garden to Table is a school-based program that helps empower tamariki to whanake (grow), hauhake (harvest), whakarite (prepare), and whāngai (share) fresh, seasonal, and affordable kai. A map of participating schools is available here.

    Oke is another example of an organisation equipping schools with an ‘outdoor classroom’ environment teaching children how to grow produce.

  • A ‘food rescue’ organisation diverts good quality surplus food from going to landfill, animal farms or compost and redirects it to community organisations supporting people who need food. Collecting food from supermarkets, food producers and food retailers, food rescue organisations sort and quality check before packing it into food boxes, or putting it on shelves, and then distributing the food to other community organisations or individuals.

    Many food rescues are part of wraparound services for people in need, and many are food hubs for the New Zealand Food Network (NZFN), or members of the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance (AFRA).