OzHarvest

It was great to see Channel 9's coverage of the National Food Donation Tax Incentive. If passed, this bill would help get food off farms and onto plates – and could unlock an extra 100 million meals every year! We urge Parliamentarians to support this bill and get us closer to halving food waste by 2030. Food waste happens at every stage of the supply chain – it’ll take all of us, working together, to fix it! Foodbank Australia SecondBite https://lnkd.in/gJUGUQvR

OzHarvest is committed to halving food waste by 2030 by driving change at all levels of society, we’re championing the value of food to make wasting it a thing of the past. So, we’re joining forces with Saveful, an app to inspire kitchen confidence by entering ingredients that need to be used up and creating recipe ideas for your next meal. Our research shows the combination of a Use It Up Shelf and cooking a Use It Up weekly meal is the most impactful way to cut food waste at home. Our Use It Up campaign together with Saveful are powerful tools to help Aussie households to do just that and fast. We’re supporting Saveful September, where you’ll find creative dishes crafted by OzHarvest chefs that help transform commonly wasted ingredients into delicious meals. We’re always on the lookout for organisations to help us embed this behaviour nationally, and internationally! Please reach out to find out how you can work with us and bring Use It Up to your community - [email protected] #useitup #collabforimpact #fightfoodwaste

Every child deserves access to nutritious food to learn and food to thrive. Thanks to the generous support of our wonderful partner Telethon7, we're able to support 116 schools across Western Australia through our Nourishing our Schools program. Nourishing our Schools tackles children's food insecurity both in schools and at home. Our Community Needs survey recently found the educational organisations we support have witnessed that when there's no food at home, parents often don't send their kids to school and children miss out on vital education. Through our food rescue operations and the support of Telethon, Nourishing our Schools ensures that good food can be rediverted from landfill and delivered to schools across the state to nourish students and help their families put food on the table. We are so grateful to Telethon and the West Australian community who have continued to support and grow this much needed program. Special thank you to North Balga Primary School for having us! Thank you! https://lnkd.in/gdvPr4ad

Never underestimate the power of school communities to create lasting change! Our National FEAST Program Manager, Amelia Berner, attended the Australasian Diabetes Congress in Perth, to discuss the importance of developing students' knowledge and skills to influence a thriving food system for good health. Amelia joined the 'Transforming Food Systems' panel, hosted by the inspiring Dr Sandro Demaio, to discuss the challenges and successes in creating positive change, and the impact of OzHarvest’s FEAST program in schools. At OzHarvest, we believe that transforming our food system for better health requires cross-sector collaboration and community trust. That's why we embrace the approach of "Nothing About Us, Without Us," ensuring that teachers, students, and local communities co-develop, deliver, and champion the FEAST program to transform their own food environments. The panel was full of inspiration and thought-provoking discussions, with special shout-outs to the event organisers Diabetes Australia and fellow change-makers Alicia O'Brien on flourishing regional food systems, Natalie O'Brien from Maggie’s ABC show on food environments in aged care, and Erich Barkmeyer for his work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community health. To find out more about getting FEAST into your school, please click here https://lnkd.in/gj6JGV9N #foodsystems #change #education #environment #goodhealth

The past month has been both exciting and busy for OzHarvest. Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to! 💛 We were honored to host Her Excellency, The Governor General Sam Mostyn, in her first month. She visited the OzHarvest Market and joined a community NEST session, helping cook and share a meal with those in need. 💛 OzHarvest launched Adelaide’s first free supermarket! More than 500 customers came through our yellow doors in the first week collecting fresh produce, pantry items and cooked meals! 💛 July was a big month as $100,000 has been raised for those in need thanks to VietHarvest’s second CEOCookOff™ event, which brought together 40 CEOs, 120 business and social impact leaders and 13 top chefs. 💛 OzHarvest Queensland has reached a milestone of delivering a staggering 50 million meals! We couldn’t of done this without our National Food Rescue Partner Woolworths for supplying us with more than half of the food we rescue in Queensland. We are also thrilled to mention we have opened a new kitchen in Brisbane thanks to our wonderful partner, Suncorp Bank! 💛 NEST youth is here! Our education program NEST has grown from strength to strength from a pilot program in 2012 to operating nationally and now with a tailored YOUTH program! To find out more about what OzHarvest is doing across Australia, sign up to our bi-monthly newsletter, The Harvest: https://lnkd.in/g2peTQ32

A magical evening with Mentors that help us nourish and grow our team.   We were thrilled to host some of the generous professionals who are part of the OzHarvest Mentor Program at our Alexandria HQ. These amazing humans come from every corner of business and volunteer their valuable time to support leaders across the whole organisation. Thanks to our wonderful chefs, everyone enjoyed a delicious vegetarian menu made from rescued ingredients, whilst conversations flowed and insights shared. The Mentor program is an integral part of how we embrace our ‘nourish and grow’ values and we could not do it without the collective wisdom of this group. We’re so grateful to share our appreciation in a night of connection and learning. A huge thank you to all our amazing mentors: Abigail Thomas, Becky Black, Felicity Leeming, Inge Cootjans, Jon Bates, Katherine Herron, Liz Hurley, Louise Sylvan, AM FAICD, Merle Singer, Miccal Cummins, Rhonda Howarth, Sam Bowtell, CST, Sarajane Dubb, Sophi Bruce, and Sylvia Lin And support from our Board members: Lawrence Goldstone, Kieran Pryke, Inge Cootjans, and Eric KWAN

Look at all these beaming faces! Our annual OzHarvest "Day in a Van" is one of our favourite days in the calendar. Teams from all over the country—from finance to operations and everything in between—hit the road with our drivers to rescue good food and deliver it to those in need. We always ask everyone to snap a selfie and share a special moment from the day. This year, the stories—both heartbreaking and heartwarming, from all demographics you can think of—came flooding in. Knowing how tough it is for people right now, the day felt particularly special this year. A huge thank you to our incredible drivers who do this very important work every day, nourishing hearts and bellies in our communities. 🚐✨

Today, we celebrate reaching a monumental milestone: 50 million meals in Queensland! Our incredible team work tirelessly as demand in the region continues to grow, delivering over 62,000 kilograms of food each week to more than 335 charities across Cairns, Townsville, Toowoomba, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast. "This achievement is a testament to the power of community collaboration and commitment. We’re thrilled to have rescued our milestone meal from our national partner Woolworths Supermarkets—who generously supplies more than half of our rescued food in Queensland—and deliver it to our friends at Northside Connect,” Michaela Windsor, OzHarvest QLD State Manager. https://lnkd.in/ge5BJrv3

The response to the launch of our free supermarket in Adelaide last week has been overwhelming, with many people asking about other locations across the country. For many years OzHarvest market in Waterloo Sydney has been a vibrant hub open six days a week, welcoming more than 500 customers daily, who walk through our yellow doors to gather a week's worth of fresh fruit, vegetables, pantry staples, and cooked meals—all of which have been rescued. Time and time again, we hear that OzHarvest market is a lifeline for those doing it tough. It's not just about food; it’s also about building community—a place where people can come each week to find support and connection. Here is a short clip produced by our friends at Vidzero, who beautifully captured our story and the essence of what our free supermarket model is all about. https://lnkd.in/gEe_ts8c

Want to be part of unlocking 100 million meals? Make a submission using this template today!   YOU have a unique chance to help shape legislation that could unlock much-needed nutritious food for food relief and support those experiencing food insecurity. If passed, this bill would reduce food waste AND help those doing it tough. OzHarvest stand alongside Foodbank and Secondbite asking for crucial amendments to this bill, making it easier for farmers, food businesses, and transport/logistics companies to donate surplus food to charities like ours. Submissions from companies, organisations and individuals are being accepted until Tuesday, 20 August. Your voice can make a difference, join us in supporting policy changes that will help those in need. Foodbank has made it easy with a submission template – follow the link below. Learn more and have your say here: https://lnkd.in/gGiDKpYU   Foodbank Australia SecondBite Dean Smith