Saving food from landfill through food relief packs for people in need

Diamond Valley Community Services (DVCS), in partnership with Carenet, diverts organic material from landfill and facilitates access to food relief through food rescue and donations.

DVCS is a not-for-profit charitable organisation that has served the local community since 1972. The organisation employs around 110 volunteers with 14 paid staff. Since 2021, the team has run up to 12 pantries where food relief packs are deposited for people to collect. The pantries allow people to access recovered food anonymously and with dignity, from Greensborough to Strathewen, near King Lake.

The program has diverted 177 tonnes of food waste, coffee grounds and packaging from landfill, and helped nearly 17,000 people.

Coordinator Kerri Wellington says, 'At the outset of the project, we did not expect that we would achieve these figures. Community engagement and collaboration with key stakeholders have played vital roles in achieving and surpassing waste reduction and food rescue targets.'

Community partners, like CareNet, provide food to DVCS, which distributes it to clients through the office or pantries. The program also keeps a fridge full of Alex Makes Meals (a for-purpose, not-for-profit, which makes ready-made food) for people coming in who are experiencing homelessness. And DVCS also partners with Darebin Information, Volunteer and Resource Service, keeping a dozen or so food bags for families to collect.

Kerri says, 'Resources, such as the refrigerated food truck through CareNet, have been instrumental in overcoming logistical challenges and enabling more widespread participation in the food rescue efforts. By offering a collection service, CareNet [made] it easier for supermarkets, and local groceries and bakeries to contribute to reducing food waste.'

And yet, DVCS continues to face problems that are common to food waste prevention initiatives. Kerri says, 'One of the main challenges is the behaviour of donor supermarkets. At one of our supermarkets, we had a good manager who understood proper food handling and could organise their team. Then that person left and employees started to chuck all the waste into a trolley mixed with broken glass.'

'There is also an expectation that community groups have to meet the requirements of industry. For example, a bakery might call at 7pm with leftovers, so we rely on volunteers who have to drive over, pick up, and store in their house or car overnight, which risks spoiling the food.'

While the organisation continues to find ways to change food waste prevention systems and behaviour through their relationships, the team also finds other ways to impact society. Student volunteers are currently writing a cookbook. Kerri says, 'The combination of increased and diverse fresh food offerings and the cookbook project has proven to be an effective way to involve volunteers, connect with the community, and raise awareness about important issues related to food waste and food insecurity.'

Driving circular economy at a local scale

Sustainability Victoria provides local communities across the state with the tools and knowledge they need to participate in the shift to a circular and more sustainable way of living.

Over the past decade, Sustainability Victoria has supported 137 community groups to deliver sustainability impacts in their local communities including tool libraries, repair cafes, composting hubs and food sharing initiatives. This project was funded through one such initiative, the Circular Economy Communties Fund.

Read our community circular economy initiative guides.