Electric van early Christmas present for food charity

An electric van has come as an early Christmas present for a Palmerston North free food charity.

The Nissan e-NV200 van has been gifted by an anonymous Wellington donor to Just Zilch, a non-profit organisation that donates food to more than 200 people daily.

A woman decided to make a sustainable contribution to Just Zilch after hearing about the organisation’s work, director and founder Rebecca Culver says.

Delighted with the gift, Culver says it will “make life a little bit easier”, Stuff reports.

Similar vans sell for about $20,000.

Culver says money that used to go on fuel can now go to getting more food, and keeping the charity store running.

The old van will provide a backup for larger deliveries for a time.

Palmerston North councillor and environment and sustainability representative Brent Barrett says he hopes it’s the first of many EV utility vehicles for the city.

The council recently got a grant from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority towards buying new electric rubbish trucks, rolling out in February, he says.

The $350,000 grant will pay for half the cost of two electric rubbish trucks and a charging station at the Awapuni Resource Recovery Park.