FareShare (Australia)
FareShare is an Australian not-for-profit food rescue organisation which operates Australia's largest charity kitchens. It strives for a society where food is not wasted and no one goes hungry.
Motto | Rescue. Cook. Feed. |
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Formation | 2000 |
Headquarters | 1-7 South Audley St, Abbotsford, Victoria, Australia, 3067. Tel. 61 3 9428 0044. |
Location | |
Chief Executive Officer | Marcus Godinho |
Key people | David Harris (President), Sandy Dudakov (Vice-President), Kellie Watson, Lucy Farmer, Crickette DerJeu, Patrick Lanyon, Rosemary Kelly, James Fien. |
Staff | 35 |
Website | www.fareshare.net.au |
FareShare rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and cooks it into free nutritious meals for people in need. Around five million Australians experience food insecurity each year while food waste costs our economy an estimated $20 billion.
FareShare tackles the tragedy head on by rescuing surplus, quality food from supermarkets, wholesalers, farmers and other businesses and cooking it into nutritious meals.
In Melbourne, with the help of 1000 regular volunteers, FareShare cooks more than 6,000 free meals a day for charities such as soup vans, homeless shelters, women’s refuges and community food banks.
FareShare’s new production kitchen, designed to cook up to five million meals a year, opened in Brisbane in October 2018 as part of an exciting collaboration with Foodbank. The new operation effectively doubles FareShare's social impact, bringing the daily total of cooked meals to around 12,000.
FareShare is a charity and relies on the support of philanthropic foundations, businesses and individual donors to rescue food and cook meals.
In 2015, FareShare commenced a kitchen garden program to supplement rescued vegetables to cook with. To date it has established kitchen gardens in Abbotsford, Moorabbin Airport and on the Baguley family farm in Clayton South, Victoria.
For every $15 donated to FareShare, it can cook 20 meals for the homeless, hungry and those who have fallen on hard times.
History
FareShare began in 2001.
Steven Kolt, a Jewish Aid Australia member, knew of the work of City Harvest, an organisation that rescues food for the needy of New York City. As a result, 'Melbourne City Harvest' began in 2001, rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted. Prepared meals were collected from function halls and catering venues.
Meanwhile, 'One Umbrella' had also begun rescuing food. With RACV Foundation's support, the group cooked nutritious pies in the club's kitchen. In late 2001, Melbourne City Harvest and One Umbrella decided to merge.
One Umbrella then lobbied for the creation of Victoria's "Good Samaritan Act" which provides legal protection to those who act in good faith by donating food to charities.
In 2008, One Umbrella changed its name to FareShare and for the first time, opened its own kitchen in Abbotsford, Victoria.