17 January 2024

Photo from left: James and Catherine Flanagan, PAK’nSAVE Rangiora owner operators, Stef Van Meer, Manager – Satisfy Food Rescue, Mac Finlayson, Territory Sales Manager – Crown Equipment, Nathan Hurley, PAK’nSAVE Rangiora store manager, Cameron Crawley, Operations Coordinator – Satisfy Food Rescue. 

PAK’nSAVE Rangiora owner operators James and Catherine Flanagan have donated a fully refurbished electric walkie stacker forklift to Satisfy Food Rescue, supporting their efforts to provide surplus food to the community. 

Satisfy Food Rescue, based in North Canterbury, works with local food retailers and community organisations to redirect surplus food in the community to those who need it most. As they expand their operations, PAK’nSAVE Rangiora has helped them shift from a manual to more automated way of moving food and product in their warehouse. Electric walkie stacker forklifts are an essential part of moving product around in supermarkets and retail distribution centres and warehouses.

PAK’nSAVE Rangiora owner operators James and Catherine say Satisfy Food Rescue, which they have partnered with since 2016, shares the same goals as they do: feeding the local community with a big focus on sustainability.  “Foodstuffs South Island has a commitment to being Here for NZ, by supporting local communities, and providing them with healthy, affordable food, meaningful work and being leaders in sustainability and this partnership is a perfect example of that commitment.

“We specifically chose to partner with Satisfy as they were local and ensured the food we provided them stayed in our community,” says James. 

“On one of our visits to their warehouse recently, we saw that the team were unloading a lot of pallets by hand and moving them manually around their premises. We wanted to help enhance their logistical capabilities and make it safer and more efficient for them to move their product, and also distribute it to people in need.” 

The team at Satisfy Food Rescue unload food off a delivery truck by hand, a chore they will no longer have to do with the electric walkie stacker forklift donated by PAK’nSAVE Rangiora.

The team at PAK’nSAVE Rangiora did an inventory of their equipment instore and found an electric walkie stacker forklift in good condition, which they could donate, providing a big hand in helping make Satisfy’s task less manual and more efficient. 

James then reached out to his forklift supplier Crown to put together a plan to refurbish the machine and gift it to Satisfy Food Rescue. Crown kindly donated their time for the refurb and PAK’nSAVE Rangiora provided the parts and equipment required, including a brand-new battery.

Stef Van Meer, Manager of Satisfy Food Rescue, which is currently expanding its operations, knows how much value the donation of the reach truck will have for them. “This will save us valuable time each week, allowing us to focus on ensuring the food in our warehouse gets out the door and delivered to the community faster.

Satisfy Food Rescue operations coordinator Cameron Crawley uses the walkie stacker forklift to unload pallets of donated food to be distributed out to food banks, community meal providers and schools.

"It also means we can reduce the risk involved with manual handling of stock, as we no longer need to move pallets of food by hand,” she says.

“It’s really important to us that we support our local community, and we hope that our contribution to Satisfy Food Rescue will help make a lasting impact to improve food security,” James said.