OzHarvest

OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, with a driving purpose to ‘Nourish our Country’. Their mission is to save surplus food from ending up in landfill and deliver it to charities that feed vulnerable people in need. OzHarvest is committed to halving food waste by 2030, inspiring and influencing others to do the same and transforming lives through educational programmes.

Port Waratah has been supporting OzHarvest since operations began here in Newcastle in 2010. The partnership has been instrumental in keeping one of their distinctive bright yellow food rescue vans on the road, helping OzHarvest ensure that over 50 Newcastle charities receive regular, fresh and nutritious food to feed people in our community who are going without.

With this support from OzHarvest, local charities can make valuable savings by reallocating funding from purchasing food to other vital priorities such as community health, counselling, and education programmes.

Port Waratah funding helped OzHarvest adapt quickly to the impact of COVID-19, with new emergency food relief services including food hampers and cooked meals. In 2021, our partnership helped OzHarvest deliver an additional 100,000 nourishing meals to vulnerable community members.

Since the service began in Newcastle, OzHarvest has diverted 286,565 kg of food from going to landfill, preventing 601,787 kg of greenhouse emissions being released into the atmosphere.

Nicki Lembcke, Newcastle City Manager for OzHarvest said, “We are so grateful for Port Waratah’s support this past year, which has been the most challenging time OzHarvest Newcastle has faced, but also one of incredible impact and innovation. Our partnership over the last 12 years has been crucial to keeping our wheels turning and making sure good food gets to those who need it most in Newcastle.”