2017 has already been a big year for OzHarvest, one of Australia’s most cherished and important charities, seeing as they have officially expanded to the UK with help from Jamie Oliver and The Duchess of Cornwall. Now the food rescue charity have revealed their next big step, opening up The OzHarvest Market in Sydney’s Kensington, the country’s very first “rescued” food supermarket.
With an aim of making rescued food and other goods available for the wider public the market, which is located on the ground floor of the TOGA Addison Project, operates along the line of “take what you need, give if you can”, allowing shoppers to set their own price.
“The OzHarvest Market is our latest innovation to tackle food waste and eliminate hunger”, offered OzHarvest’s CEO and Founder Ronni Kahn. “It supports OzHarvest’s purpose to nourish our country, by making sure good food does not go to waste and is available to everyone”.
The primary purpose of the supermarket is to provide the public with a new way to connect with the food OzHarvest rescues each and every day; quality surplus goods that would otherwise go to landfill, not because they are expired or damaged but simply because of the food wastage problem OzHarvest are battling every day.
“If times are tough and you’re in need of food or other goods, you can take what you need, if you can give something, then please do, it could even be your time or skills”.
Everything from fresh bread and pastries to ready-made meals, rice, pasta and toiletries will be available at the supermarket, with much of the stock having been donated by other major supermarkets as well as airlines, businesses, cafes, chefs and more.
The space, which was donated from TOGA whilst the broader site awaits development approval, is also being used to offer the public recipes and tips to avoid food wastage, as well as provide daily hot soup to people in need. What’s more is that the market is located next to the Addison Hotel on Anzac Parade, a building which has been transformed and now offers pop-up accommodation for vulnerable youth.
“There are lots of opportunities for people to get involved and give back to the local community, from volunteer hours in the market, stacking shelves and cleaning. We would love to see more OzHarvest Markets pop up as those in the industry are inspired by TOGA’s initiative,” said Ronni.
The OzHarvest Market
Address: 147 Anzac Parade, Kensington NSW 2033
Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-2pm
The OzHarvest Market is powered by volunteers and shoppers are encouraged to bring their own shopping bag.
Image supplied.
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