New EV van helps Everybody Eats fight food waste and feed those in need

Upbeat music plays: Words appear on the screen “Meridian Community Decarbonisation Fund” along with Everybody Eats logo and tag line “Feeding bellies not bins”, and the Certified Renewable Electricity Generation logo. Also on screen are the words See meridian.co.nz/certified 

Erin Walsh, Communication and Admin Officer for Everybody Eats is on screen talking to the camera.

Erin says: Everybody Eats goes around and we collect surplus food from different organisations. This includes supermarkets, food charities, and then we take them back to our restaurant, and we have chefs and volunteers who help prepare them and serve them out to the community for pay as you can/pay as you feel meals. 

See a person wearing a black Everybody Eats top carrying a box of food into the kitchen. See a chef in the kitchen putting potatoes into three large silver pans. 

See a waitress come up the kitchen pass and picking up a bowl of food from two chefs. 
See a plate of vegetables close up.  

See a white tin with- Koha. Thank you for your support and generous contribution to helping feed the community – written on it. 

See inside the restaurant dining room. People are sitting at tables, coming into the restaurant, waitresses are picking up food from the kitchen. The scene changes to another angle in the restaurant showing a full restaurant with more than 30 people sitting at tables. 

Erin speaks to the camera: We serve about 150 people a night. So that all just feeds into our feeding bellies, not bins. Countrywide, Everybody Eats has served over 150,000 three course meals. And we have diverted over 100 tonnes of food waste. 

See a close-up of a chef's hand in a plastic glove, placing a garnish on top of two food plates. The plates are full of curry and vegetables. 

See a chef cutting apples on the bench in the restaurant kitchen beside a large crate of apples. 
Erin speaks in the background while the scenes change below: In Wellington alone, we serve 500 meals a week and we divert 2 tonnes of food waste a month. 

See a close up shot of plates of beans and bread while a chef is serving the food on to the plates in the background. 

See a volunteer waitress picking up a bowl of food from the kitchen pass and taking it out to the restaurant. 

See Jack Rainey Wellington Manager – Everybody Eats. Jack is wearing an apron and standing in the restaurant kitchen.

Jack says: For the first three and a half years of operating here we have been using our own vehicles to do the food rescue which has been a logistical nightmare. It also meant long hours.  

Jack continues to talk in the background while the scenes change.

Jack speaks: So, with the Meridian Community Decarb Fund we’ve been able to purchase an electric van that has helped us do all of this rescue in one sweep. And not only that, it allows us to have our branding and our messaging more around the city. 

See a volunteer loading a large bag of carrots into the back of a van that has many other boxes of food in it. 
See a close-up of a volunteer driving a van around Wellington streets. See a close-up view of the Meridian name and logo on the side of the EV van. 

See a white van drive past with Everybody Eats written on the side of the van. The van also has the words Meridian and turbine logo on the van door. 

See the van driver wearing an Everybody Eats top carry a box of food from the van to the restaurant. 
See the back of the EV van with Everybody Eats written on the side of the van and Meridian and the company turbine logo on the back of the van. The van driver is unloading food from the van. See Wellington city street scene with buildings on both sides.

Jack Rainey speaks to the camera: it’s helped us reduce our emissions greatly, which is a big part of why we are doing this in the first place. 

See the Everybody Eats branded EV van drive down a small Wellington street. See the Everybody Eats branded EV van parked with 3 volunteers unloading food and carrying boxes across the road into the restaurant. Everybody Eats is written in black across the side of the van and the Meridian logo is on the door of the van. 

Jack Rainey speaks in the background: It’s just made out operation hugely easier. 

Upbeat music plays and the video ends with a teal and navy screen. The words Meridian and The Power to Make a difference appear on screen. Meridian company turbine logo spinning on screen.