A Unique Supermarket in Australia is Fighting Food Waste

Food that is destined for landfills is given another chance at Oz Harvest. It is a rescue operation in Sydney that takes in products normally thrown out by major supermarkets, airlines and other suppliers, and gives them away for free.
The Australian government has made a push  reduce food wastage, which costs them 20 billion Australian Dollars a year.

It is an attempt to tackle the mounting waste problem in Australia, where more than four million tonnes end up as rubbish each year.

“It is simply remarkable that we produce enough food to feed 60 million people a year but every month more than 600,000 people –one-third of them children – seek food relief from relevant charities,”  Australian Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg said in April.

Globally, one-third of human food – about 1.3 billion tonnes costing around US$1 trillion (RM4.28 trillion) – is lost or wasted annually, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Such wastage is particularly conspicuous in retail, where food is thrown away “due to quality standards that over-emphasise appearance”, the UN body added.

Waste Not Want Not

Founder of Oz Harvest Ronni Kahn hops that the store will inspire more people into doing their bit to change the way we look at food wastage and sustainable living.

Besides the needy, “there are people (at the supermarket) who want to take part in this sharing economy – and understanding why this produce was rejected, why is this here”, she said as she pointed to bread donated by a bakery.

Long queues have formed outside the shop since it opened in April, with the unemployed, single mothers and students among those leaving with bulging grocery bags, reports the Star

Huge amounts of resources like fertilisers, fuel, land and water used to grow and pack food.

“When food’s wasted, all of those resources are wasted as well.

Everyone in the world can do their bit, all it takes is a little thought and effort into planning our grocery list. Buy only what you need and try and stick to local ingredients.Encourage cooking meals and eating together as a family so that the importance of food and not wasting it is made more clear.

We hope that budding entrepreneurs can take a leaf out of Oz Harvests book and come up with creative ideas to combat food wastage.