Fresh Food Rescue

Fresh Food Rescue grant applications are now closed

Each year households, retailers, restaurants and businesses throw out millions of tonnes of food which then finds its way into landfill sites. Although not always fit for sale, much of it is good quality and can easily be rescued and turned into nutritious, meals for the needy or vulnerable in our society.

In January 2010 Woolworths launched the Fresh Food Rescue program, a year long campaign to rescue surplus fresh food from the waste stream and turn it into meals for the needy. With a target to provide two million meals for those in need and $2 million for those who serve them, this extensive program will help address an underlying social problem in Australia.

Woolworths recognises it has a significant role in ensuring that fresh edible food, which for various reasons cannot be sold, is put to the best possible use by turning it into meals.

The Woolworths Fresh Food Rescue campaign will support food relief charities at two core levels:

1) Expanding fresh food rescue and food donation schemes from Woolworths stores to charity groups. Already, over a quarter of Woolworths supermarkets are rescuing surplus fresh food, which would otherwise go to landfill. Woolworths aims to substantially increase its partnerships with local food relief charities and soup kitchens and is actively seeking new community partners to work with stores right across the country.

2) Building additional capacity amongst charity groups through a major grants scheme Woolworths will contribute $2 million to help charity groups expand their operations and ensure thousands more people can access healthy, nutritious food.

Woolworths is working toward an ambitious target to reduce organic waste to zero by the year 2015. In 2009 the company was one of Australia’s largest food donors, providing 1.35 million kilos of consumable food which is the equivalent of 1.5 million meals.

Grant applications have now closed. Applicants will be advised if their application has been successful by 15 July 2010 and grant monies will be awarded in July-September 2010.