Food rescuers celebrate five years of OzHarvest in the Highlands

The Southern Highlands chapter of the charity OzHarvest officially turned five this month, with a morning tea party on August 31.

OzHarevest was founded by Ronni Kahn in 2004, which rescues food that would be thrown away, and redistributes it to charities across Australia.

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Highlands chapter leader Jenny O'Regan said it was a "great way to commend the efforts of all past and present volunteers, especially through the challenging COVID season".

Since local operations began in 2017, more than 136 tonnes of food has been rescued in the region - exceeding the equivalent of 363,500 meals.

"Together our team currently rescues around one tonne of food per week," operations coordinator Phil O'Regan said.

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Mr O'Regan oversees morning food collections from supermarkets, cafés and other businesses in the Wingecarribee on weekdays, and coordinates same-day deliveries to charities and agencies.

The chapter has supported charities such as the Anglicare Mobile Community Pantry.

Justine McKinlay from the Community Cooking School, Wingecarribee Meals on Wheels' Debbie Smith, Peggy Pollock from Anglicare Moss Vale and OzHarvest NSW/ACT volunteer coordinators Camilla MacInnes and Shell Millingen also attended the celebration.

Ms Pollock said the charity has provided "such a valuable service by rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted and putting it in the hands of those who need it most."

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Members of the community can get involved involved with OzHarvest in the region, where many volunteer for a couple of hours per week.

There would be a lot of lifting and packing, and people who have their own vehicles can help out from 8am to 10am.

You can learn more about Oz Harvest's Highlands group via ozharvest.org/your-local-ozharvest/southern-highlands or on the Oz Harvest Southern Highlands Facebook page.

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