Open Table community food hub

Open Table hosts free lunches for the community made from surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away. We make nutritious meals to share with the community, in order to reduce food insecurity and food waste. We currently feed on average 200 people by diverting 250kg of food from landfill per month across six neighbourhoods thanks to the generous donation of space from neighbourhood houses and community centres. In order to increase our capacity we are looking to establish our own central hub where we can gather and store local food donations and prepare more free meals for the community.

Food waste is a global issue but it also affects us all locally. Local food businesses are throwing out perfectly edible food every day. At the same time there are 1 in 20 Australians going without a meal.

Establishing a hub allows us to save more food, serve more free nutritious meals to the community and offer more opportunities for community connection through a shared meal. As a group we were inspired by the concept of collective action, believing that strong and resilient communities can truly change our relationship with food for the better.