Valley Kai
Valley Kai's aim has been to increase Food Resilience in the Valley.
A resilient community can withstand the adversity that life throws at it, whether it's a community-wide response to natural disasters or pandemics that disrupt food supplies, or individual household support during financially and emotionally trying times. We all need access to nutritious, fresh, local food to be a resilient community.
We've been thinking about how we can make our entire community's access to this food more secure. How can we make it easier to raise, produce, share, and sell local food?
The following are some of the Valley's continuing local food initiatives:
Ōtepoti Community Fruit Harvest and Redistribution
Over many years we have collaborated with Our Food Network to coordinate volunteers to harvest surplus fruit in backyards, then redistribute it locally to our community.The project is coordinated December through to April each year.
This season the harvest project is being hosted by Our Food Network.
If you have surplus fruit or want to volunteer for 2025/2026 season, please contact: harvest@ourfoodnetwork.org.nz
Visit ‘Our Food Network’ website here https://www.ourfoodnetwork.org.nz/
Click here to view the report to our funders Ministry of Social Development on the 2023-2024 season.
Community Gardens & Orchards
Join a community garden working bee! Meet friendly locals and be rewarded with some fresh produce and empowering knowledge of how to grow your own food.
North East Valley Community Garden: https://sites.google.com/site/nevcommunitygarden/calendar
Dalmore Community Garden: https://www.facebook.com/DalmoreCommunityGardenPineHill
Transition Valley 473 Community Fruit & Nut trees
A decade ago, Transition Valley 473 established the 1000 Fruit & Nut Tree Project, planting many (not yet a thousand) fruit and nut trees in the Valley region, including apples, pears, quince, lots of currants, hazelnut and chestnut trees, to name a few. Please remember community trees work best with a give-and-take system: take only what you need, and leave some for others. Also, consider how you can give back to nurture the trees for future years whenever you take from them. Get in touch with Keri for more information around the 1000 Fruit & Nut Tree Project: kremdelakremlin@gmail.com
The Valley Project maintains three of these orchards, and volunteers are welcome, contact: openvue@northeastvalley.org to get involved.
Sharing & Buying Edible Plants & Seed
Ōtepoti Urban Organics: Support our local seed-saving initiative Otepoti Symbiosis Seed Exchange to buy local seed, or get in touch to adopt-a-crop for seed-saving. See urbanorganics.org.nz or get in touch symbiosis.seed.exchange@gmail.com
Crop Swap: The Valley Project hosts the very successful crop swap on the last Sunday of the month 3-4pm at the community rooms ( 262 North Road).
Seed Library: There is a seed library here at the Valley Project offices, accessible during office hours. Seeds are FREE.
Information & Workshops
Click either of these resources for a Dunedin-specific step-by-step guide to growing kai:
Keen to upskill
Here are a couple of experts who often host workshops.
Rory Harding & George St Orchard: George St Orchard.
Jason Ross Habitate Fruit Nursey
Grow your own edible fungi: We have our own edible fungi expert in the Valley! See Bart Acres' website and Facebook page for more info and workshops.
Local food foraging and edible weed expert: Anna Read, follow her on Facebook Holishealth Facebook page to be kept up to date.
Fruit and Vege Boxes
All Saints Fruit & Vege: Get your fresh produce at cost with All Saints Fruit & Vege. Options of one-off orders and recurring subscriptions for different sized boxes. Order by Monday for collection on Thursday from either location:
St Martin’s Anglican Church, 194 North Rd, North East Valley, 4.30 – 5.30 pm Thursday.
All Saints’ Anglican Church, 786 Cumberland St, North Dunedin, 8.45 – 10 am and again from 4-6 pm every Thursday. You can purchase additional produce from here. Eftpos. available.
KaiShare: We work with KiwiHarvest to offer a local food rescue redistribution scheme that offers food boxes for whanau in need. Find out more about the Kai Share initiative here.
Pātaka Kai Open Food Pantries
North East Valley Kai Pantry: 262 North Road, North East Valley, Dunedin 9010. This is a Free Kai pantry that is available 24/7. Supporting growers, harvesters, preservers to contribute to this.
Pine Hill Pātaka Kai: Outside Pine Hill School, 11 Hislop Street, Dunedin 9010.
Low-Cost Food and Transport Maps
Check out WellSouth food and transport maps to find the nearest affordable (free or lower cost) food and transport options in your region.
SUPPORTING EDUCATION ABOUT KAI & FOOD WASTE
Food Waste
Waste Minimisation Tips: Local Resident, Rebecca Harris, has created some videos on reducing food waste and offers cost effective tips for the kitchen. Watch them here on our blog or on YouTube.
Waste Minimisation Recipes, News, and In-Depth Info: Love Food Hate Waste is an excellent resource for reducing food waste in households.
Composting in the Valley: ShareWaste connects people who wish to recycle their food scraps and other organics with their neighbours who are already composting or worm-farming, or whom keep farm animals.
You can also learn how to compost by joining one of the community working bees:
North East Valley Community Garden: https://sites.google.com/site/nevcommunitygarden/calendar
Dalmore Community Garden: https://www.facebook.com/DalmoreCommunityGardenPineHill
Good Food Dunedin
We love the DCC- Good Food page. It has lots of information on growing your own kai, and buying local and seasonal kai, directly from growers.
Cooking on a Budget
Rowan Lewis, our Valley Kai intern, created a few resources on budget cooking and preserving:
Download File •
Download File •
Many Hands Catering
Hinewai of local catering company Many Hands, has contributed delicious vegan soup recipes to the Valley Voice Newsletter during winter 2022. Check them out:
