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Fact one: Melbourne is a world-class food magnet with top-notch cafés, restaurants and produce markets. Fact two: Queen Victoria Market is the largest open-air market in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the city’s biggest sources of fresh produce. Fact three: Almost half of the City of Melbourne’s residents are finding it hard to put food on the table due to the current cost-of-living crisis.
Now, those three realities are coming together to create positive change. A new initiative launched at the Queen Victoria Market will rescue thousands of kilos of surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and redirect it to people who need it most.
Data from the City of Melbourne revealed almost one in three residents skipped meals or worried about running out of food last year – a sobering statistic for Australia’s so-called foodie capital. At the same time, Queen Victoria Market produces up to 800 tonnes of surplus food and organic material each year – that’s roughly the weight of 30 Melbourne trams. Let that sink in.
Enter a new food relief program aimed at tackling both food insecurity and food waste. Under the new initiative, traders and food relief providers will work together to ensure more of that food ends up where it belongs: on people’s plates, not in landfill.
The initiative is being delivered through the Melbourne Food Rescue Network – a partnership between the City of Melbourne, Queen Victoria Market, Streat and SecondBite, with support from the Victorian Government.
Social enterprise Streat will sort and grade donated produce on-site at the markets before SecondBite distributes it to local food relief organisations across Melbourne. Fresh fruit and vegetables from some of the market’s biggest traders will then be delivered to community groups supporting vulnerable residents.
“No one in Melbourne should have to choose between paying a bill and feeding their family,” said Lord Mayor Nick Reece. “This food rescue program is about getting good food onto the plates of people who need it most.”
By bringing together traders, community organisations and government, the initiative will strengthen Melbourne’s food relief network, reduce food waste and help those in need. You can read more here.
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