Since 2014, we have donated over 100 million meals to OzHarvest. OzHarvest distributes our surplus fresh food from our supermarkets and Metro stores to over 1,500 charities across the nation to help Australians in need of food relief. Woolworths is also a proud partner of Foodbank for more than 20 years. Throughout this time, over 46 million meals have been given to people in need from donations and resources, including pro-bono freight provided by Primary Connect (part of the Woolworths Group)
Across the Group, our focus remains on diverting all edible surplus food to our food rescue partners. Where non-edible surplus food remains, our stores share this with our valued farmers and wildlife groups. Food that can not be shared for human or animal consumption, is then sent to organics recycling to process into a range of products including nutrient rich compost and fertiliser. Unfortunately, in Australia, access to commercial organics recycling is not readily available outside of major cities, making it a challenge for many organisations. In 2023, Woolworths implemented a dedicated program to expand organics recycling in regional areas across Australia by working with new technologies, onsite solutions, innovative and local operators and councils to foster new partnerships and expand our existing network capabilities. Through focused efforts and collaboration with our new and existing organic recycling partners, 128 regional and remote stores were connected to an organics recycling solution.
Today, 92% of our Australian supermarkets and Metro stores now have access to organics recycling, with over 700 stores now connected to depackaging services to improve the efficiency of processing non-edible food waste. We are proud of the work our teams across the Group achieve, and continue to achieve in reducing hunger and food waste.
