It’s the first of its kind, a technological manifestation of Oz Harvest’s mission to address the national target to halve food waste by 2030 (in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.)
How does it work?
The app connects local businesses and charities to facilitate donations on a regular and ongoing basis. Once a food donor is registered and a charity has been assigned to their store, there are 3 simple steps:
1. The Food Donor enters details of surplus food
2. A local charity receives a notification telling them about the food
3. The charity collects the food
The app is available on all Android and IOS compatible devices.
The irony of Australian food production is its ability to be able to produce enough food for everyone yet over four million in this country experience food insecurity each year, with regional areas hit the hardest as food relief is increasingly hard to access. Whilst OzHarvest is renowned for their bright yellow vans that rescue food in communities across Australia, the new Food App will focus on feeding those in locations where the vans cannot reach.
“I am staggered at how many people are still going hungry, whilst good food continually goes to waste.” says Bonni Kahn, OzHarvest Founder and CEO, “Within one community there can be a business throwing away perfectly edible food and just around the corner a charity is struggling to feed people in need. The OzHarvest Food App will help local communities support each other by connecting the two on a regular basis and make a tangible difference to people’s lives,”.
After a successful pilot with 70 Woolworths stores across the country, OzHarvest will be making the new app available to any business, small or large, to help grow their network of food donors across the country. It is expected to support an additional 600 charities by rescuing over 2,000 tonnes of food to provide an extra six million meals in the first year alone.
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