The Good Neighbour Kitchen is about educating and mentoring students, volunteers and community members to use food on hand to create nutritious meals, minimising food waste to landfill.

The Good Neighbour Kitchen operates on multiple levels, it offers:

This is our innovative training and mentoring programme for students from Tauranga Boys College, who learn better in an out-of-classroom learning environment.

• • In 2023 approximately 32 students will be offered experience in the Good Neighbour kitchen, as well as training in soft skills related to employment.
  • The students learn together by doing practical tasks in and out of the kitchen, such as meal preparation, but also backing a trailer and learning how to operate a fork-lift.
  • The programme helps to keep the students engaged in society, develop self-worth and confidence so they can cope with life’s challenges while learning new skills. It also helps them get them job-ready.
  • The team uses mainly rescued food in sustainable ways to make meals for the Good Neighbour team.

If you’re keen to learn more about our Life Skills Programme, which is run by our Kitchen Manager Lee Pearce, please check out this presentation.

This is where volunteers work together with one of the Good Neighbour chefs to:

• • Use predominantly rescued food deemed fit-to-cook rather than distribute, and produce nutritious, delicious meals for the community. These meals are shared with the community through over 70 charities that all pick up food from our Food Rescue department.
  • Learn about food processing methods that increase the shelf life of products, such as fermentation and dehydration. This food is also shared with the community through our Food Rescue department.
  • Share knowledge about meal preparation in the weekly cooking class ‘Cooking 101’ where a small group of community members learn basic kitchen skills so they can prepare their own nourishing kai.

If you’re keen to learn more about our Volunteer-centred Programme, which is run by our 2nd Chef James Broad, please give us a call on 07 394 4249 or send an email to [email protected].

• Tauranga Boys College
• TrainingCo
• Blue Light

• Accessible Properties
• SR Automotive
• Credit Union

• Bethlehem Baptist Church
• + all of our partners from our Food Rescue network who distribute the community meals we prepare in the Good Neighbour Kitchen

We would like to acknowledge and applaud those who support the Good Neighbour Kitchen. Without their generosity we would not be able to educate and mentor students, volunteers and community members to use food on hand to create nutritious meals.

Coming soon.