Koha Kai is a registered Charity (Registration #CC54490), established in 2015.   We began as a small group of people, many of whom had various disabilities.  We were seeking a way to support the development of skills that would empower people to become independent and autonomous within their own lives.  We chose to position our teaching programme within schools, so that through our learning, we would be able to offer an affordable and valued lunch service to the children of those school communities.  In learning how to grow kai and cook hearty, wholesome meals to support the nutritional needs of children, of elderly and disabled people, we began to understand that all people can contribute valued and valuable services to our community.

Our commitment to sustainability and Papatuanuku mean we source recyclable, compostable and biodegradable packaging. Food scraps nurture our market gardens to produce the compost we need. We have year round production of vegetables, thus supporting our garden to plate concept.

Koha Kai works together with local suppliers first and engages with local charities and businesses to support our Murihiku economy.

We continue to work alongside our community with a number of groups to ensure each person is able to access fresh vegetables from Community Gardens around not only Waihopai but Murihiku also. We believe it is important for everyone to have “food security’ and are always seeking ways in which to enable our hapori to feel empowered by what they are able to achieve.