24 Nov 2014

Australian oil and gas exploration and production company Santos has entered into a partnership with OzHarvest which will bring the food rescue group to Western Australia for the first time.

OzHarvest collects surplus food from all types of providers (including fruit and vegetable markets, supermarkets, hotels, wholesalers, farmers, corporate events, catering companies,restaurants) and delivers that food free of charge to charity clients.

With its headquarters in Sydney, OzHarvest has operations in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Newcastle, Melbourne and Adelaide, and is now coming to Perth.

Santos WA & NT General Manager Brett Woods said he was delighted that the company was able to help those less fortunate through support for a national food rescue group with a 10-year long track record of successfully helping those in need whilst, at the same time, addressing the issue of food waste.

"Australians throw out $8-10 billion of food each year which is hard to fathom when you consider that Australian food relief agencies are not able to meet local demand," he said. "And around four million tonnes of food a year ends up as landfill, which is an environmental issue. So partnering with a group like OzHarvest makes a whole lot of sense for a number of good reasons, and we are very pleased to help bring them to Perth."

OzHarvest founder and Chief Executive Ronni Kahn said she was thrilled that her organization had now arrived in Western Australia, where there is a demand from both charities and food providers.

"Two million Australians rely on food relief each year which is not a statistic to be proud of, particularly when you consider we produce enough food to feed 60 million people," she said. "But OzHarvest is doing what it can to help and we are very excited that we now have a presence in the west and one we hope to build on. We are seeking the support of the local community to donate time, food or money in order to help us deliver good quality surplus food to those who need it most."

In the financial year ending 30 June 2014, OzHarvest delivered 7.6 million meals to 678 charities, saving 2,538 tonnes of food, 5,076 tonnes of carbon emissions and 362 million litres of water. They recently delivered their 30 millionth meal. Bain & Company has measured the group's Social Return on Investment and calculated that for every $1 invested in OzHarvest, a social benefit value of greater than $5.68 is returned to stakeholders.

distributed by