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Our Mission is to reduce food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.
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Humans spend an enormous amount of time and resources producing food. Yet around one-third of the food we produce globally does not end up in our stomachs. In New Zealand, the majority of it ends up in landfills, where it breaks down without oxygen and releases harmful greenhouse gases like methane that contribute to global warming.

When we throw away this food, we are throwing away all of the inputs required to produce it. Colossal amounts of oil, water, and labour are being wasted - our planet is fragile and we simply cannot afford for this to continue.

At the same time, it is estimated that globally one billion people are going hungry. And this is happening right here in New Zealand. A 2014 global survey found one in six Kiwis ran out of money for food, meaning we have one of the worst food poverty problems in the developed world.

Our society is becoming increasingly fragmented, we don't know our neighbours. We need more opportunities to come together, with people from different walks of life, to build community and get to know each other.

We recognise these problems have the ability to solve each other. We take perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste and use it to feed people suffering food poverty. By inviting anyone and everyone to join us for a meal in a welcoming space, at shared tables, served by friendly volunteers we are able to bring communities together, allowing people to get to know each other and build trust.

Too much food


Humans waste around one-third of the food we produce. 1.3 Billion tonnes of perfectly good food, worth over One Trillion dollars.

Not enough food


At the same time over one billion people are going hungry. Recent studies show that in New Zealand 1 in 6 people don't have enough to eat.

Disconnected


Communities are increasingly fragmented. We don't know our neighbours anymore. Social Isolation is a significant and growing problem.

We serve restaurant quality, three-course meals, prepared by chef led volunteers, from perfectly good food that would otherwise go to waste.

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Nick Loosley

Founder & Board Member

Nick loves food and is passionate about bringing people together around food. He was first exposed to the enormous amount of food we waste while undertaking research for his Master’s Degree in Green Economics. He saw prime cuts of red meat, fresh avocado, even whole wheels of cheese all just simply thrown away. On this journey Nick visited 12 projects in the UK and Spain, learning the various ways these initiatives are affecting change in the food system. When he returned home, Nick knew he wanted to do something to help solve the problems of food waste and food poverty in New Zealand. Everybody Eats was born.

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Amy Tew

General Manager

Amy has lived and worked all around the world on social enterprise ventures and charitable projects: from creating jewellery with people with disabilities in Tanzania to providing basic necessities to refugees in France. She is passionate about tackling social injustice and creating opportunities for people to make an impact. The aims of Everybody Eats really spoke to Amy and she is thrilled to be part of the team and lead on strategy and partnerships; and bringing an Everybody Eats restaurant to somewhere near you in the future!

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Nic Harty-Morris

Operations Manager

Nic has long believed in the power of food as a force for good. His commitment to ethical, sustainable practices has informed a hospitality career in renowned establishments across New Zealand, Australia and the U.K. More recently, Nic took a step away from the food industry to complete a Master of Applied Social Work degree at Massey University. Now, at Everybody Eats, Nic combines his passion for sustainable food systems with a dedication to social justice and community development. Originally from Hawke's Bay, he moved to Tāmaki Makaurau in early 2023 to join the Everybody Eats team.

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Amanda Butland

Systems & Support Manager

Amanda has a strong background in hospitality and events and is passionate about food and wine. Amanda has always enjoyed the social aspect of working in hospitality and bringing people together over food and music. Wanting to fill her spare time with something meaningful, Amanda signed up to volunteer, and loved it. When the project expanded she became part of the team managing the temporary site in Avondale. These days Amanda manages our restaurant in Onehunga where she runs services and coordinates the diverse family of volunteers who come together to help bring joy to the community through food served with love.

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Jack Rainey

Restaurant Manager - Wellington

Meet Jack—a hospitality legend with over 20 years of experience and more food stories than your grandma’s cookbook collection. He donned his chef whites back in 2006 and has since worked his culinary magic everywhere, from fine dining to hotels, casual joints, and even the fancy world of private cheffing. After enough time sweating it out in the kitchen, Jack decided it was time to swap the stove for schmoozing, and for the last seven years, he’s been ruling the restaurant management scene. Back in 2020, Jack took the reins at Everybody Eats when it was just a humble Tuesday pop-up. But then he disappeared for a seven-month stint at the World Expo in Dubai, which apparently involved a lot of impressive things (probably with camels). Upon his return, he wasn’t messing around. With guns blazing and a spatula in hand, he cranked up Everybody Eats Wellington to four nights a week, even adding a fancy event space for good measure. Jack’s love for minimising food waste goes way back to his childhood when he lived remotely and everything was grown at home. Not a single carrot went unpeeled! Now, he’s all about connecting with the community, bringing everyone together around kai, kōrero, and making sure no morsel goes to waste.

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Jake Brown

Restaurant Manager - Onehunga

Jake blends a decade's worth of experience in theatre, hospitality, and volunteering roles to our services in Onehunga. Four nights a week, he activates our space with warmth, manaakitanga, and care. Embracing the company ethos that food is more than survival—it's a cornerstone for connection—Jake takes pride in contributing to our mission against food poverty in Aotearoa. He champions volunteering for community betterment, personal fulfilment, career development, and even a bit of fun! Believing that happy volunteers translate to happy diners, Jake embodies this philosophy in his commitment to our shifts, making each night an opportunity for enjoyment and impact.

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Alicia Mendez

Head Chef - Wellington

When her hand modeling career didn’t quite take off, she leaned into her natural cooking skills, and needless to say, 14 years of ‘standing the heat’ speaks for itself. A fierce believer of 'less is more,' she champions Lateral Cooking and working smarter—because if you’re in hospitality, you're already working hard! Detail-oriented, with a touch of Tetris syndrome, she brings the perfect blend of respect for ingredients, conscious consumption and VIP service for ALL patrons. As well as leading with a healthy serving of compassion. She enjoys keeping things simple and fuss free. Once from a home where often nobody ate, now cooking for a community where Everybody Eats… and never forgetting the most important ingredient: love!

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Tristan Abbott

Head Chef - Glen Innes

Tristan was born Auckland and has been cooking professionally for 13 years. Working as a chef has allowed him to travel around the world, working in hatted and Michelin-starred restaurants, resorts and eco lodges in New Zealand, Australia, France and Belgium. He is passionate about creating delicious, exciting dishes from rescued food and donations. He's also very focused on a "nose-to-tail" approach to fresh produce - utilising every part of a vegetable, herb or fruit in his cooking - too often the best parts are wasted! Tristan is a firm believer that food brings people together, inspires important conversations and heals at the same time. The cost of living and poverty are huge issues in Aotearoa; Tristan is very proud to be working with an organisation that is actively working towards addressing them.

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Archana Kurup

Head Chef - Onehunga

Born in Kerala, India, Archana has been cooking in professional kitchens for the last 20 years. Working across restaurants, hotels and catering in India before starting work in Aotearoa from 2013. Her training in various cuisines is reflected in her style of cooking, full of variety and flavour. She strongly believes in our kaupapa that we should all have access to fresh and healthy food, and in the power of food to bring people together. For Archana there is nothing more joyous than cooking and feeding people - she strives to make delicious food that sparks the same joy in our diners.

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Lauren Dinnage

Food Rescue - Wellington

Lauren first started volunteering with Everybody Eats in August 2021, before joining the team early 2023. She brings with her over 15 years of experience in hospitality, customer service, and events. In her role, she collaborates with various organizations in the Wellington region that rescue food, working to continue our mission of maintaining sustainable food practices. In her free time, Lauren freedives competitively and recreationally gathering her own kai moana - and sharing this with others. Lauren has an unwavering dedication to ensuring no food goes to waste, and embodies the values of compassion and sustainability in her work.

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Anne O’Brien

Board Chair

Anne is the CEO and Artistic Director of the internationally renowned Auckland Writers Festival, one of New Zealand's premier cultural events and a not-for-profit. She is proud to contribute to Everybody Eats' vision to address economy and social inequality.

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Logan Granger

Board Member

Logan is an Accountant working across various sectors. He is involved with the NZ Nutrition Foundation and enjoys working with Everybody Eats seeing how our meals and events have the opportunity to engage people from a diverse range of cultures and backgrounds in creative and collaborative ways.

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Nura Taefi

Board Member

Nura is a barrister specialising in civil litigation. She is also a mother of three and enjoys sharing food with new and old friends. Nura loves being part of Everybody Eats because of its power to combat waste, bring people together, and promote the human right to adequate food.

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Sophie Gilmour

Board Member & Consultant

Sophie lives and breathes food and hospitality. She’s been waitressing at many of Auckland's best restaurants from 17 years old; co-founded multi-site free range rotisserie chicken concept Bird On A Wire; and most recently honed her cooking skills at the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. One of the resounding lessons from her time at Ballymaloe was the utmost respect that our food deserves - where it’s come from, who has grown it and what it does for our bodies. Sophie applies skills from her time in commercial litigation, as a Board Member of hospitality industry charity Dine Aid and as a hospitality operator to advise and empower Everybody Eats to execute its mission.

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Sara Tara

Board Member

Sara brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to community to her role as a board member at Everybody Eats. With a Masters in Business, she has dedicated the past two decades to excelling in sales, marketing, and commercial partnerships within the travel, broadcasting, and creative sectors. In her own time, she also serves on a marae sub-committee and is the tautīaki of a by-Maori for Maori trade collective. Hailing from South Auckland and very proud of her Ngāti Hine whakapapa, Sara's upbringing grounds her dedication to the well-being and aspirations of her whānau, iwi, and wider hapori. Her journey in business is not just about professional success; it's deeply intertwined with a sense of purpose rooted in uplifting and supporting those around her. In Sara's eyes, Everybody Eats transcends the notion of merely being a restaurant, it embodies a space where manaakitanga is extended to all, without barriers, fostering connections through the shared experience of kai while simultaneously addressing the wider concern of food wastage.

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Justis Kamu

Board Member

Justis is a values-driven communications specialist with experience in diverse sectors including non-profit organisations. A proud Samoan raised in West Auckland, he has grown up witnessing the significance of food in cultural and religious customs. From an early age, he observed how food symbolised love, generosity, and respect, often shared with loved ones and guests. Justis is grateful for being a part of Everybody Eats, as its concept and mission tackle systemic problems through an innovative and inclusive approach that embraces people from all backgrounds, cultures and communities.