For more than 16 years, Port Waratah has proudly partnered with OzHarvest to help address two critical challenges facing our community — food insecurity and food waste.

Support through our Community Investment and Partnership Programme has helped OzHarvest deliver more than 300,000 nourishing meals to people doing it tough across our region in the past three years. During this time, 36 local charities received vital food support, including organisations such as City Sleep Safe, Jesmond Neighbourhood Centre and Maryland Neighbourhood Centre.

The partnership has also helped divert more than 150,000 kilograms of quality food from landfill — preventing an estimated 150,000 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to a more sustainable future for our community.

At the heart of OzHarvest’s work are its iconic yellow vans, which operate year-round rescuing surplus food and delivering it free of charge to local charities and community organisations. Port Waratah’s ongoing support has helped fund critical driver hours, logistics, systems and process improvements and vehicle operating costs, enabling OzHarvest to focus on deepening relationships with charities and strengthen their volunteer base; remaining responsive to growing demand for food relief services across Newcastle.

As cost-of-living pressures continue to intensify many local families and individuals, enabling access to fresh, nutritious food has never been more important. Through our long-standing partnership, vulnerable community members have been able to access meals and support in safe, welcoming environments, while local charities have benefited from a reliable supply of quality food to strengthen their own services.

The partnership has also created meaningful opportunities for community connection through volunteering, with volunteers gaining firsthand insight into the food rescue process by accompanying drivers as they collect rescued food and deliver it to local charities throughout the region.

The impact of this work extends well beyond food relief. By partnering with OzHarvest, Port Waratah is helping create stronger community connections, reduce environmental waste and contribute to a more inclusive and resilient community.

“We make lunch with some of the OzHarvest produce so people can sit down, talk, and connect with one another - it’s often the only human connection they’ll have all week,” said a frontline volunteer with one of OzHarvest’s partner charities.

Port Waratah is proud to stand alongside OzHarvest, helping them do what they do best; nourishing our community, building a more sustainable future and advocating for systemic change.