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Free Rescued Lunch for Thousands 21/07/2014 (Multiple Locations!)

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Just like the event last year! Back again! Register and put it in your calendar if you can make it:

Monday, 21 July 2014 from 11:30 AM to 2:30 PM (AEST)
Martin Place, Sydney, NSW 2000
Adelaide
Brisbane
Melbourne
Newcastle

NOTE: You need to select the right city (Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, etc.) Also, please only select the number of tickets you need.

Copied and pasted from the email I received:

This time last year we were gearing up to feed more than 5,000 people around the country including Sydney's Martin Place, Adelaide and Brisbane using surplus food that would have otherwise ended up in landfill. And what a success it was thanks to your attendance and support!

On Monday, 21 July, partnering with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the UN’s Food Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Global Initiative on Food Loss and Waste Reduction (SAVE FOOD), OzHarvest will be leading the Think.Eat.Save campaign in Australia to raise awareness around global food loss and waste reduction.

Up to 10,000 members of the public, including some of the nation’s top chefs, politicians and celebrities, are invited to unite and take a stance against food waste at Think.Eat.Save events across the country - Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Newcastle!

Join us again at Martin Place, for a delicious hot meal made from rescued produce served up by celebrity chefs, visit our city pop-up garden, meet local growers and hear from an exciting panel of speakers - to be revealed in the coming weeks!

Register now to attend your local event, by doing so you will be making a pledge to reduce food waste! Just click here www.ozharvest.eventbrite.com.au.

We'd like to thank our major supporters, including: UNEP, FAO, Virgin Mobile, City of Sydney, The University of Adelaide, Federation Square, St Stephen's Cathedral, Pages Event Equipment, Austage and many more.
Let's all commit to reducing food waste!

Stay tuned for more news on Think.Eat.Save events in the coming weeks. Hope to see you again next month!

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closed Comments

  • +59

    I would skip this. Let homeless or less fortunate people enjoy this free hot lunch in this windy winter….

    • +28

      Good idea. Might be better to get tickets and give them away. I reckon it's less likely for the homeless to register online.

      • +3

        very true…

        • +6

          I think its more of a promotion and aimed for everyone including the homeless and the Bill Gates around.

        • +2

          *Bill Gateses

    • +5

      Doubt the homeless are the (direct) target audience of this PR event. Besides, would expect it to be fund as well as awareness raising. Those without would be hard pressed to donate. I'm attending as I used to fund & operate a free food service.

      So much good food is wasted every day.

      • +7

        I grabbed a spare ticket so I can invite someone I meet in the street that day.
        Go on, be generous ;-)

        • +19

          Interesting choice of venue for a first date. Good luck with it :)

        • +1

          Good idea! I've got a few tickets, sure I'll be able to bring a friend or two then give the rest out to hungry strangers.

        • +6

          Yes, I'm a very cheap date. If they don't like my OzBargain lifestyle, well…

          I'm in Brisbane - it's at the Cathedral!

          In my travels I like to offer homeless & others a meal to share. In China, someone translated what other diners were saying - they had never seen anyone share dumplings with a hungry poor person before. It went down surprising well.

          (I always feel I am the one who benefits most - a great experience sharing & getting to know others.)

          Dignity & respect are harder to offer than simply a meal.

        • +4

          Too good.. Hugs for u Bruce…

        • +1

          A + vote for the good work Bruce! Thanks.

    • +3

      http://www.ozharvest.org/ourimpact.asp?blockID=19656

      It's geared at awareness for us wasters

      Founder and CEO of OzHarvest, Ronni Kahn said the aim of Think.Eat.Save 2014 is to bring attention to the disturbing amount of food wasted in Australia and around the world, where roughly one third of food produced for human consumption (approx. 1.3 billion tonnes) gets wasted and lost along the way.

      'Our modern day challenge is to create a sustainable food culture that can be shared by all, where we waste less at all levels of food production, distribution and consumption,' Kahn said.

      'Each and every one of us can make a pledge to reduce food waste by participating in local Think.Eat.Save events, and also commit to reducing food waste at home. Small actions can affect change and united, our actions will make a huge positive impact on our planet.'

  • +6

    Attended last year. So much food and not enough people. So could have as much . I ate 4 times.
    Everyone there are the ones who get these online tickets or professional workers in CBD. Didnt see a single homeless.

    • +3

      You might have, most shower, its really only the crazy ones that dont wash.

      • +2

        Yup. Rough sleepers is often the term used, these days. Homeless is too broad of a term.

        It can easily be someone with a family, high paid job etc… but won't/can't go home.

        Being 'homeless' is SO much more complex than most realise.

        For better or worse, the brain is so powerful.

        • +4

          very true, a well dressed lady lives in her car on my street in a not bad part of town.her car is chock full and doesn't get moved much.she'll lock it up and go away sometimes and generally keep up the appearances of a normal person .I find it hard to understand how in the Western world someone might be going through a lot and basically has no one to share with and is expected to keep up a front .nhow this deal is a good idea for anyone to help reduce food waste

  • What kind of food do they put up? Tossing up whether it's worth a 2 hour round trip for a free lunch…

    • +4

      I'm going for the experience, but a free feed is a bonus.

      Some top chefs are providing their expertise. It's only the ingredients that were destined for the bin, & they probably came from restaurants & supermarkets - checked to be ok. I have fed so many people on this food with no issues in my free food service years ago.

      • +1

        Good work mate. Nice to see you provide food to people as we waste so much in Australia.

        • +7

          Anyone can do it (in their own way) from smiling, saying hello, listening, giving a piece of fruit or part of your lunch, …

          Volunteering (accidentally while travelling) in Myanmar last year I found a $1 bag of small mandarins was a popular gift - shared as I walked along dusty lanes or sat with the locals. My "orange lady" at the market threw in extra, as she got to know me.

          It's the sharing with interest & respect that's important.

          (But I do it for my own satisfaction. I'm selfish like that. So no need for thanks. It's people who have never done it before that need a bit of encouragement. I'm already hooked.)

        • +7

          I started a free food distribution based on collecting saleable produce with agreement with supermarkets (not dumpster diving). At the start, food was prepared in my home, with waste composted in our inner city vegie gardens - plus teaching organic gardening, bee keeping etc.

          But the intermittent nature of supply, logistics of collection, and finally a legal issue with a supplier & potential legal issues with food safety (rescued food takes greater diligence so more resources) was too much for a volunteer group.

          Decided to buy cheap but nutritious juicing grade fruit, seconds & basic foods, paid for by my fruit sales business - which trained & paid unemployed. Sold up to 5 tonne per day & fed up to hundreds for free. Grew so fast.

          So although rescued food was a great principle, it was easier & required less people to go the usual food distribution way :-(

          So please support these guys!

        • Respect mate, very selfless.

        • +1

          "very selfless" - not really. I get a lot of satisfaction & interesting stories.

          (Unfortunately, altruism is a nice ideal, but it's BS. Dig deeper & you find everyday self-serving motivations at best, at worst religious or ideological zeal to change the world - without respect for the individuals they "help", in my opinion.)

          After a while you can guess peoples stories - the regret for drinking or gambling their lives & families away, or just a downward spiral after a bit of bad luck.

          What I learnt with these interesting people, I adapted to look after very successful ones in my consultancy (Minister of Government, etc), charging hundreds per hour. Now I mainly travel.

          I was in a town in South Korea, almost out of money & no ATM would accept card for some unknown reason. I owed for my accommodation & was hungry. I started to worry as I needed money for the bus in the morning… But then remembered my experience is I always somehow find money when I needed it. A 5000 Won ($5) note blew by & the next ATM paid out. There was a wallet left on my bus seat the next morning, stuffed with so much cash. Seeing the student ID and I was on my way to stay in a Buddhist temple (I'm an atheist), I laughed & handed it in. Just another day at the office ;-)

          Every experience is valuable.
          (Even getting your money back from a Woolworths deal, hey sirlothie!)

  • +5

    Who said there was no free lunch?

    • +1

      Came here purely to see if anyone had said this yet.

  • -8

    Is it compulsory to dress in rags? Can we wear an Ozbargain shirt instead?

  • Sweet - Will get a few of these and drop them off to the homeless beggars I see around that general area.

    • +2

      That's not the idea with this, unless you mean you want them to join you for lunch. It's about awareness (of our wasteful ways) & a sustainable food culture. Read about it above.

  • How was the food last year?

    • +2

      Food was fine. Mainly consisted of meat or vegetarian curries with rice. And some sort of crumble for dessert.

      Food is free so there shouldn't be any complaints really… Beggars can't be choosers

  • good timing :)

    100 Free Lunches Each Weekday @ QV Melbourne - 12.30pm 4th-27th June
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/146555

  • Melbourne - Sold Out

  • +1

    reminder, it's next Monday.

  • Still plenty of tickets left for the Sydney event.

  • don't even need tickets but just a cup of soup in melbourne if any are still interested

  • +2
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