October 12, 2026

From small groups, big movements can grow

We have plenty of foodies who give time at Kaibosh, from chefs and home bakers to craft beer connoisseurs, gardeners and preserve makers, and even someone with decades of experience cooking for the embassies of Wellington. That someone is Penny, who has been giving time to Kaibosh to help her community for over 10 years. Here’s our latest Humans of Kaibosh story, celebrating volunteer impact.

“I don’t think when I started I realised how much part of this community I would be.”

Where it all began: a small evening crew

When Penny first started volunteering at Kaibosh, the doors were unlocked by a staff member after work and the evening team was left to get on with it. Ten-plus years, three locations and one pandemic later, she’s still giving her time at Kaibosh, now on busy daytime Fridays on Hopper Street and in a team of 6-8 volunteers sorting a mountain of rescued supermarket food before the charity collections head out for the weekend.

In the early days, Kaibosh food sorting was an evening operation in Pōneke. Around five volunteers would arrive after work. A Kaibosh staff member would unlock the door, and the team would get on with it.

“It was after work into the evening, so a lot of people would come after work – and we were just left to our own devices really!”

First up each shift was food from long time cafe chain Wishbone, which had to be ready to go out the same day: sandwiches and meals for the night shelter, so people had something to eat before bed. Only then did the team turn to supermarket food “… but the volumes were not nearly the same as now.”

The team that survived COVID

Penny has moved with Kaibosh through three locations, and some were more inviting than others arriving to on a winter evening.

“There was the time we were in a secluded building on Myrtle Crescent. It wasn’t very well lit and it had a park beside it.”

Through it all, her evening crew stayed together. When COVID hit, other volunteer teams disbanded, but Penny’s regrouped.

“Our team survived. We were the only team that survived COVID. All the others disbanded. But ours got back together and we were a really tight team! It was lovely, and I still miss those people a lot actually.”

Kate and Jess were her buddies on shift. When Kaibosh shifted to daytime, that crew drifted away, and the volunteer mix changed too.

“Now, of course, with it being in the middle of the day, you get a lot of retired people who may not have been so keen to go out in the evening.”

Giving back, in and out of the kitchen

When Penny started at Kaibosh, helping people was already a big part of her working life. She was still catering, and she was also working as a reader-writer for students, first at Victoria University and then at Massey University. (We have many current and former students from both universities volunteering with us today, so she’s in good company.)

Reader-writing wasn’t only about exams. Penny’s biggest job was supporting a profoundly deaf student on a two-year photography diploma.

“I went to all the lectures with two signers, three of us for this one girl. If she was watching the signing, she couldn’t write anything, so that’s why I was doing the writing. It was such fun because we made a foursome, and I loved it.”

After that came supporting another deaf student through their one-year fashion diploma. That work overlapped with her first stretch of Kaibosh shifts, while she was winding down her catering business.

From the Dutch Queen, to tired veges

That catering career spanned 20 years of cooking for embassies in Wellington, “a great job… until it wasn’t.” The standout memory is cooking for the Dutch Queen at the embassy residence in Wadestown.

“Beforehand, several policemen came in with their mirrors and their metal detectors looking for bombs. And then I walked in with all my boxes and they didn’t think to look in those!”

Penny adds, that the Dutch Ambassador and his spouse were always charming and invited her to meet the Queen.

From evenings then, to busy Fridays now

From Kaibosh kai to Everybody Eats

Penny’s love of food has found another home. For about three years she has also volunteered at Everybody Eats Wellington, the popular pay-what-you-can restaurant that cooks with rescued food. The link back to Kaibosh feels natural to her.

The idea came from Linda, our Volunteer Manager in 2023, who was already volunteering there. They did a shift together, and that was that.

“It seemed such a natural thing, because Everybody Eats is part of the Kaibosh family as well.”

For a volunteer who spent over 20 years cooking professionally, it’s a chance to see rescued food at the other end of the journey. Some of it is the very kai she has sorted at Kaibosh.

“It stands out just how clever the chefs are to use up the tired veg sometimes. You get yellow broccoli, but they use the stems. Harri, the chef, uses every part of fruit and vegetables to make dressings, pickles and powders which add layers of flavours and textures to the meals she produces.”

Penny also enjoys the way the Everybody Eats kitchen team works, with Harri explaining how each dish is coming together and giving volunteers a little taste along the way.

What next and what it means

Looking ahead, Penny hopes Kaibosh keeps growing, and she’s excited by the move to sourcing directly from farms.

“Hopefully it can get bigger, this farm thing Luke tells me about – it’s such a good idea! But boy, it needs a lot of input, doesn’t it. I see the onions. A lot of onions! Getting to farms is so fantastic. Fresher food is better.”

What she didn’t expect, all those years ago, was how much of a community she’d find at Kaibosh.

“I don’t think when I started I realised how much a part of this community I would be. It’s dear to my heart now, but after over 10 years, it’s not surprising. It’s definitely an important part of my life.”

Thank you Penny! You’re a really important part of Kaibosh.

Thanks to everyone who gives time to help Kaibosh and our community – you are part of the ripple out impact for people of Pōneke.

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Find out more about Volunteering at Kaibosh, or read more of our stories.