Cargo carts to the rescue

Support from Perth’s corporate sector has helped provide a transport solution for Food Rescue, potentially doubling the amount of fresh food the organisation can collect from the central business district.

Food Rescue, which became part of UnitingCare West in May 2013, currently collects about 9,000 kilograms of fresh food per week, mainly from supermarkets, which it then donates to a range of charities.

The group has also been using trucks to collect around unsold sandwiches and wraps from cafes around Perth each day.

However, Food Rescue manager Julie Broad told Business News the congestion on CBD streets had made that part of its work increasingly difficult.

Ms Broad said the support of corporate organisations in the city had enabled the Food Rescue to modify a number of ‘cargo carts’, which will be pushed down St Georges Terrace to collect the food.

She said the initiative had been further boosted by the time input of volunteers, most of whom were employees of supporting companies.

Engineering and project management company Auseno was the first to provide volunteers, and Ms Broad said interest had snowballed from there.

“I haven’t even publicised it, this is just all word of mouth,” she said.

About 130 people had signed up to be volunteers, which would be rostered on with six people pounding the pavement along St Georges Terrace between 2:30pm and 4pm every weekday.

In addition, Ennex100 had offered the use of its service lift, which the Food Rescue volunteers will utilise to load food into a van sponsored by Argonaut.