Author Archives: Benn

Recently we took Outdoor Chef Life out on the Hauraki Express for a bit of a glimpse at The Kai Ika Project. We caught some fish, filleted them at the station and talked about how the initiative came to be. We then took him out to the Papatuanuku Kokiri Marae where he put on anContinue reading “Outdoor Chef Life meets Kai Ika”

One News, 18 July 2025 Demand for free fish heads is rocketing as people continue to struggle with the cost of living. This morning, hundreds queued at a car park in Mangere as The Kai ika Project handed out leftover fish parts.

TVNZ breakfast, July 2025 At the Kai Ika project in Mangere, families line up for free fish heads and frames every Wednesday and Friday morning, highlighting the growing demand due to rising food prices. With supermarket prices up 4.6% in the last year, many families are struggling to afford nutritious meals, making our initiative evenContinue reading “Kai Ika on Breakfast”

Te Ao, Maori news, July 2025. What some might discard, others see as treasure. The Kai Ika Project, a community-led initiative, is making sure no part of the fish goes to waste and whānau in need benefit as a result. Every Wednesday and Friday, long lines of cars stretch through a park in Māngere, asContinue reading “Fish head giveaway draws crowds, offers support to struggling whānau”

Instagram, June 2025 Taking the future of taste out into our community Watch here.

Maori TV, Home, Land and Sea, Episode 4 – Papatūānuku Kōkiri Marae Nestled in the heart of Mangere an urban marae is producing and redistributing kai to those that need it most. Driven by manaakitanga and the tikanga of those before them Papatūānuku Kokiri Marae is on a mission to help the community thrive. WatchContinue reading “Home, Land and Sea”

Newstalk ZB, 9 December 2024 An unconventional app is bringing Kiwis together through a love of fish heads. Free Fish Heads allows fishers to connect with seafood lovers who are after often-discarded fish parts – including fish heads – for cooking purposes. The app is the brainchild of TV fishing personality Matt Watson, who saysContinue reading “Free Fish Heads: New app connects fishing fans with seafood lovers”

RNZ. December 2024. For every kilo of fish that you give to somebody to eat, that’s a kilo of fish still swimming in the ocean, says TV fishing personality Matt Watson. It’s why he’s been on a mission to connect fish head eaters with fish head catchers for over ten years. The latest version of hisContinue reading “The hook up app for fish head lovers”

NZ Herald, October 2024. Good in the Hood has evolved and improved since launching in 2011. To grow young minds and help children succeed, sometimes you need to let them get their hands dirty. That’s something Michelle Turner has seen first-hand while working for the charity Oke, which provides gardens for schools to use asContinue reading “A decade of evolving community support”

AA Directions Magazine, Spring 2024 Chris Jupp spends his Thursdays elbow deep in fresh fish parts that might otherwise be bound for the bin. He fills bags, buckets and boxes with hundreds of kilos of fish heads and frames to distribute to members of the Wellington community, who treasure this bounty. He is operating aContinue reading “Sharing the bounty: The Kai Ika Project”