After 20 years in hospitality, Ronni Kahn was sickened by the amount of wasted food generated by her industry. She knew that there were people going hungry but when she tried to contact a reputable organisation that could consistently collect the large amounts of leftover food she discovered there was no such charity. Dedicating her time to help others, she set up her own food rescue charity.
Kahn founded OzHarvest, a food rescue charity that collects food from places like function centres, caterers, corporate offices, restaurants, cafes and tourist operators, and provides that food to charities. The charities employ a trickle-down effect and feed the disadvantaged, including homeless people, youth at risk, single parents with no support, marginalised indigenous men, women and children, refugees, those recovering from addictions, and women escaping domestic violence. The only common thread to their charity list is that all of their recipients are either disadvantaged or at risk and being provided with food helps them gain confidence in their ability to survive.
The fact that food is inevitably going to be leftover from most hotels and restaurants means that the menu is varied, much to OzHarvest’s delight. They may get sandwiches one day or eggs and milk the next, or even a whole pie for an entire family. The only perishable food rescue charity in Sydney that delivers on a daily basis, they have touched literally thousands of lives.
OzHarvest has consistently met its goal of delivering a meal at a cost of 99c. Their funding is from varied sources: 50% from corporate entities; 35% from a few select private foundations, with only 10% from government and 5% from individual donors. Their program is also reducing the hospitality industry’s massive impact on the environment by turning waste into a resource and saving thousands of kilograms of food from being dumped as landfill each year.
Caroline Bateson, the manager of PCYC in South Sydney, says the donations of food from OzHarvest are invaluable to her community. They are now able to help with snacks for after school programs benefiting the youth of the area, as well as occasionally send home whole meals for families. Due to the fact that PCYC is a charity and has limited funds, the fact that OzHarvest is able to deliver nutritious meals on a daily basis at no cost whatsoever to either the donor or the charity and the final recipient is a huge shot in the arm for Bateson, and in turn the young people in the Redfern and Waterloo area.
From 20 years of watching good food go to waste to the founder of a food redistribution service that is helping the disadvantaged gain confidence in their future, Ronni Kahn certainly fits the definition of a social entrepreneur.
120 companies from around Australia representing a broad spectrum of industries showed just how diverse entrepreneurship can be. Whether it is new products and services, simply a great new business idea, or even an old idea revamped with a new twist, the inaugural SmartCompany Crown Lager Business Start Up Awards showcased the lot and brought to light the entrepreneurial spirit of modern Australia.
