OzHarvest Newcastle

The project

OzHarvest Newcastle rescues good food from supermarkets, clubs, restaurants and function centres and distributes it free of charge to local charities across the region to serve to those in need.

nib foundation is proud to have partnered with OzHarvest since it was established in Newcastle in 2010, and to have helped the charity develop into a local success story that has made a difference to thousands of the Hunter's most vulnerable residents.

In 2013 our funding supported the expansion of OzHarvest Newcastle's services to the Lower Hunter regions of Cessnock and Maitland. In 2016, we supported further expansion into the Port Stephens Local Government Area.

2017 also welcomed the introduction of a third vehicle, increasing OzHarvest's capacity in the Hunter region. This will mean more frequent food pickups and deliveries to an increasing number of partner charities locally.

In recent years, our funding has contributed to OzHarvest's core operational costs which enables them to continue to grow in the Hunter and meet the increased demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Impact

The OzHarvest Newcastle service continues to expand to meet an ever growing demand for food relief. Achievements in 2021 include:

• Over 700,975kg of food rescued, equating to nearly 1,401,850 meals;
• Over 9,000kg of food rescued each week that would otherwise go to landfill;
• Supported 142 charitable agencies, reaching an estimated 48,138 vulnerable community members across the Hunter, including: Raymond Terrace, Valentine, Williamtown, Maitland, Newcastle, Wyong etc.
• Relationships maintained with over 116 local food donors;
• 6.6 kilograms of greenhouse emissions were prevented for every kilogram of food waste prevented at the retail level;
• Delivery of their five millionth meal since inception in 2010.