Twenty cafes have signed up to donate unsold food to Christchurch's first "free store" which opens today.
A team of volunteers from Kairos Free Store will pick up goods from the cafes twice a week before giving it away to people in need at the St Asaph St container store, Christchurch Press reports.
Everything involved in the setting up of the store, which is run by 27-year-old Beth Hutt, had been donated.
The container was donated by RNP Homes while Grace Vineyard Church donated part of their land.
The 27-year-old says everyone will be welcome each day when the store opens at 5.30pm.
"Whether it's a guy in a suit who pulls up in an Audi, or someone on the margins of society, we are open to everyone," she told the Press.
Ms Hutt works as cafe manager and sees first-hand the problem of food wastage.
"Unless the staff take it home, or cafes give it away, it's chucked in the bin," she said.
"If you go into a cafe at say, 3pm, a sandwich is $10 and looks great. Then after they close it's got no value, which is ridiculous."
The store was inspired by the Wellington Free Store, which has been open since 2011.
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