MenuOzHarvest
WebsiteDescription
OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, with a driving purpose to Nourish Our Country. Founded by Ronni Kahn in 2004, it began with a simple concept to rescue good food that would otherwise go to waste and deliver it to people in need.
Starting in Sydney with one van, OzHarvest now operates nationally and has delivered over 125 million meals and saved 40,000 tonnes of food from landfill.
Each week, OzHarvest rescues over 180 tonnes of quality surplus food from more than 3,700 food donors including supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, hotels, retailers, airports and food outlets. It then delivers directly to more than 1,300 charities that feed vulnerable Australians, who now have access to a wider supply and variety of fresh and cooked food.
OzHarvest runs education programs NEST and Nourish to enhance life skills of vulnerable people, increase connectedness and improve health, nutrition and sustainable living. After a successful pilot, the new curriculum-aligned program for primary school children FEAST is being rolled out.
The OzHarvest Market (Australia’s first rescued food supermarket) opened in Sydney’s Kensington in April 2017. Based on a ‘take what you need, give if you can’ philosophy, it has made rescued food available to all, especially those in need.
After five years raising awareness about global food waste as the official Australian partner of the United Nations Environment, OzHarvest has now launched their first national consumer education program to #fightfoodwaste
Mission Statement
To Nourish our Country, through the redistribution of surplus food that would have otherwise gone to waste, and education programs to enhance life skills of vulnerable people, increase connectedness and improve health, nutrition and sustainable living
Program Details
FOOD RESCUE
OzHarvest was the first organisation in Australia to rescue perishable excess food. We now work with over 3,500 food donor businesses to facilitate the rescue of quality surplus food free of charge, for over 1,300 local charities.
The demand for food relief continues to rise, with over four million people in Australia struggling with food insecurity. We are working hard to ensure a regular supply of nutritious food to many agencies, but many say they could take double to meet demand.
NEST
NEST is a national education program teaching people in need skills and knowledge to nurture themselves through healthier eating choices and food preparation through a series of hands-on cooking and nutrition workshops.
NOURISH
The Nourish Program enables OzHarvest to be part of a special journey for at-risk young people (16-25 years) by training and mentoring students in a Certificate II in Hospitality or Kitchen Operations. Nourish offers more than just hospitality skills as it creates hope, opportunity and supports employment pathways for self-sustainability.
FEAST
FEAST is a new educational program by OzHarvest, designed to teach kids about sustainability, food waste and nutrition using hands-on cooking and inquiry based learning.
Food waste is a global issue causing a negative effect on the environment. Whilst food rescue fills hungry bellies, education transforms lives and is the key to influencing change. Children are the future to saving our planet and we hope to inspire them with this new educational resource providing food education and sustainability training, or FEAST for short!
