Disadvantaged and homeless South Australians have received over 7800 meals in the first year of a new partnership between Adelaide Convention Centre (ACC) and OzHarvest SA.
OzHarvest SA is a not for profit organisation that rescues fresh food from restaurants, hotels, function centres, retailers and other food service providers and delivers it straight to charities for distribution to South Australians in need.
Adelaide Convention Centre’s executive chef Tze Khaw and the team at OzHarvest.
ACC was one of OzHarvest SA’s first partners in South Australia and helped the organisation with its first trial food drop in the State on December 6, 2010.
ACC chief executive officer Alec Gilbert said the Centre was privileged to partner with OzHarvest SA who tackle hunger among disadvantaged South Australians and congratulate them on a very successful first 12 months.
“The Centre formed a partnership with OzHarvest SA because we saw an opportunity to put spare meals from an unexpected drop in numbers at our events to good use,” said Gilbert.
“Meals are prepared fresh by the Centre for each client event with any leftover meals collected by OzHarvest SA within two hours. This keeps the food out of landfill and reduces greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption.
“In our first year, we have donated 7896 meals to OzHarvest SA, which equates to 2,393 kilograms of food and saved 342,199 litres of water normally used to breakdown the food in landfill and 4,786 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere.
“The Centre can produce thousands of meals every day so we take the responsibility of food waste very seriously.”
Hayley Everuss, coordinator, OzHarvest SA said Adelaide Convention Centre has been one of the key advocates and food donors since the very first trial in SA in December 2010.
“Their commitment to food rescue and using their surplus food in a community and environmentally responsible way sets a fantastic example for the food industry in Adelaide.
“This quality food makes a real difference to the 35 charitable agencies we support, and of course saves good food from landfill.”
The ACC partnership with OzHarvest SA forms part of a broader strategy to reduce food waste including another partnership with Foodbank SA and their own worm farm which keeps organic waste out of landfill. The Centre’s relationship with Foodbank SA started in 2008 and since then they have donated more than 31,500 meals to the organisation. Foodbank SA freezes the meals and distributes them to welfare agencies across the State.
ACC has ended its first year with OzHarvest SA by expanding its relationship to support the organisation’s new wine label – Harvest.
Harvest wines will be featured at the Centre’s Cellar Door Wine Festival from February 24-26. Proceeds from the sale of every case of Harvest wine sold at the Festival with feed a family of four in need.
