OzHarvest: converting food waste into meals for the hungry
OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, saving 250 tonnes of food a week from landfill and producing 250 million meals for the vulnerable.
19 August 2024
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Ronni Kahn AO is a South-African born Australian social entrepreneur who founded the food rescue charity OzHarvest
Photo credit: OzHarvest
As an event planner, Ronni Kahn became increasingly concerned about surplus food left over from large-scale events, so she decided to take action.
Twenty years later, her brainchild, OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, saving 250 tonnes of food a week from landfill and producing 250 million meals for the vulnerable.
The surplus food comes from supermarkets, such as Woolworths, local cafés, manufacturers, producers, growers, and farmers across Australia.
Photo credit: Nikki To for Oz Harvest
Sadly, the need has never been greater. “It’s what we call the hidden crisis because almost 10 million Australians at some point need food relief. We’re talking about a country with 27 million people and almost a third will need food. It’s unconscionable,” says Ronni.
“When I started OzHarvest in 2004, around three million people were in need. I didn’t know that a third of all food produced was going to waste. I didn’t know that in Australia it was costing us $36 billion a year. I thought, oh, I’ll just rescue food until I’ve got no more to rescue and that will solve that problem,” she smiles, wryly.
“I mean, I was naive, there’s no doubt. If I had possibly known what I was in store for, I might not have done it. The point is I was never daunted. But I certainly didn’t realise the scale of the challenges.”
Photo credit: Nikki To for Oz Harvest
In Australia alone, 7.6 million tonnes of food are wasted a year, while 3.7 million households struggle to put food on the table.
Although enough food is produced globally to feed everyone, as many as 783 million people still go hungry.
Photo credit: Nikki To for Oz Harvest
“The charities and organisations we support are telling us that they need 50 per cent more food,” explains Ronni. “What we collect is surplus. It’s not waste. It’s perfectly fit for consumption. It’s beautiful, quality produce. We support over 1500+ charities across the nation! Some in Sydney include PCYC Marrickville, Newtown Mission, Redlink
Surplus could mean oranges that aren’t big enough/the right shape to sell to mainstream supermarkets; a spelling mistake on the labels of products or limited edition stock a supermarket is struggling to move. We support over 1500+ charities across the nation, these include PCYC Marrickville, Newtown Mission and Redlink in Sydney.
Photo credit: Nikki To for Oz Harvest
“A third of our population needs food. So, the challenges are the distribution and the capacity to rescue that surplus and deliver it to those in need.
“It is a huge issue and bigger than any of us could imagine and not one that OzHarvest by itself can solve. Our food system is broken. What is it going to take to fix it?”
It seems that Ronni’s next project—the Hunger Solutions Lab—offers a potential answer: an innovative, collaborative platform to consolidate efforts to end hunger.
“We can break the cycle of hunger, stresses Ronni. “We’ve created it. We have to find what it’s going to take to shift it. I believe that right now, in Australia, we’re perfectly positioned.
Photo credit: Nikki To for Oz Harvest
“I’m passionate about OzHarvest, what we do, how we do it, making sure that we do it in the most effective, impactful, respectful, dignified way. But I’ve also reached the point that I think we need to be solutions-driven on a bigger scale.”
An Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), Ronni’s OzHarvest model has been replicated worldwide via an open template that OzHarvest offers to anyone who contacts the charity and wants to emulate its success in saving surplus food and feeding the vulnerable.
“Until we change our behaviour, nothing can shift. We’re mindful that on the one hand, we want to collect all surplus food and feed vulnerable people, but on the other, there needs to be less surplus food,” she adds.
Photo credit: OzHarvest
OzHarvest’s free Use It Up tape™ is one way that’s changing mindsets. Used in the fridge, freezer, or pantry to mark food that needs using up, it’s an easy way to ensure food doesn’t go to waste. “The tape teaches people how not to waste food. We worked on this together with Monash University and behavioural scientists to understand what it’s going to take to shift our behaviour,” explains Ronni.
Adopted by more than 100,000 homes in Australia, research shows that households using the tape have reduced food waste by 40 per cent.
OzHarvest’s education expands further afield, with a food education programme (FEAST),among other projects which is in over 1,000 primary and high schools.
“When you can shift behaviour for kids, they take that behaviour home. It’s the cyclical way of affecting change,” concludes Ronni.
Author: Alison Marshall
Alison Marshall is a seasoned journalist, writer, and editor with over 30 years of experience in print and digital media across global markets covering sectors from hospitality to finance. A Brit by birth she has lived in Singapore since 2008, a country which continues to fascinate. In her free time, she enjoys cooking and cocktails and loves a local market wherever she travels.
