CatholicCare Tasmania and OzHarvest: Nourishing community together

By Michelle Mizzen, CatholicCare Tasmania

OzHarvest was founded in 2004 by Ronni Kahn AO after she noticed the enormous volume of quality food being thrown away through her events business. What began as a practical response to an obvious problem quickly grew into something much bigger.

With just one van in Sydney, Ronni began rescuing surplus food and delivering it to local charities, never intending to start a national movement, simply wanting to ensure good food was not wasted.

Today, OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, driven by a clear purpose to ‘Nourish our Country’. In 2024 alone, the organisation rescued more than 14 million kilograms of food across Australia, supporting communities and reducing food insecurity while also protecting the environment.

CatholicCare Tasmania began working with OzHarvest when operations commenced in Launceston in early 2025. Since then, the partnership has delivered meaningful benefits across several programs, particularly those supporting young people.

“Partnering with OzHarvest has allowed us to significantly reduce our weekly food expenditure,” said CatholicCare Tasmania CEO Julia Mangan.

“That has meant we can redirect funds into additional therapeutic activities that directly support the wellbeing and development of young people in our care.”

Young people have embraced the partnership with enthusiasm and creativity. Donated food items now form the basis of weekly meal planning, with teams supporting young people to assess the freshness of produce, reduce waste and try new foods.

“This is about much more than meals,” Ms Mangan said. “Young people are building practical life skills, confidence and independence, while also improving their nutrition and engagement.”

The partnership extends beyond food rescue. OzHarvest also delivers fresh flowers to staff rooms, a gesture that has had a positive impact on staff morale and wellbeing.

“The OzHarvest team has been an outstanding partner,” Ms Mangan said. “Their flexibility, responsiveness and genuine commitment to our mission have made a real difference.”

Since the partnership commenced, OzHarvest has provided 3,578 kilograms of produce, equating to 7,155 meals delivered to our programs across Tasmania.