Founder Ronni Kahn with one of the yellow OzHarvest collection vans. Photo courtesy of OzHarvest
By Phoebe Anderson
Oz Harvest is one of the key partners in the City of Plenty project. Born from the vision of founder Ronni Kahn in 2004, Oz Harvest collects un-wanted or left over food that would have be thrown away from commercial outlets each day. In 2005 Kahn and her supporters lobbied the government to amend laws that enabled restaurants and other providers to give away food at the end of the day to agencies like OzHarvest rather than just throwing it away. Ronni Kahn describes the success of this project in the 2014 Annual Report for OzHarvest.
“From little things, big things grow! In 10 years we have delivered more than 30 million meals to vulnerable communities and at-risk individuals across Australia, and we have diverted more than 10 million kilos of food from ending up in landfill.”
At the end of each day, OzHarvest’s distinctive yellow vans collects un-used food from its donors. Then OzHarvest delivers this excess food to over 600 charities or agencies including at least 10 operating in the Penrith area such as Penrith Community Kitchen to help those less fortunate as well as people who need an occasional extra helping hand. Oz Harvest now delivers across Australia to Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Newcastle and Perth. Through the REAP program, OzHarvest is now going to regional areas.
Food being collected at a supermarket for OzHarvest. Photo courtesy of OzHarvest
Oz Harvest’s work is made possible by the support of more than 600 volunteers and over 2000 food donors including supermarkets, cafés, restaurants and other generous commercial outlets. For every $1 donated to Oz Harvest, the agency can provide two healthy meals to those in need.
Collecting food for OzHarvest. Photo courtesy of OxHarvest
OzHarvest works to educate others about food waste through programs such as Think. Eat. Save, through annual events such as the CEO Cook-off and nutrition and training programs such as NEST (Nutrition, Education, Sustanence and Training) and Nourish as well as through its informative website.
As one of the main partners in the project City Of Plenty, OzHarvest were very excited about this project, particularly the education aspect where young people were involved in the project through the blog and the signs installation.
To find out more and perhaps become a friend of OzHarvest visit their website http://www.ozharvest.org/
You could also come and support this work at the Benefit dinner on Monday 23rd March at Penrith Regional Gallery. For more information ring the gallery on 0247351100.
Nest Program, Jarrah House. Photo courtesy of OzHarvest
City of Plenty 