​How PPI helped OzHarvest provide 700,000 meals for Victorians in lockdown

An unprecedented year

2020 has been a rollercoaster for everyone, but some people are doing it especially tough as we grapple with COVID-19. Particularly in Victoria, many of us have been watching restrictions heighten, businesses close their doors, and many families begin to feel the pinch.

Here at Production Packaging Innovations, we found ourselves asking that common question… How can we help?

Partnering with OzHarvest

OzHarvest is a leading Australian food rescue organisation, founded in Sydney in 2004. They’ve since expanded nationally to rescue more than 180 tonnes of food each week from supermarkets, airports, hotels, restaurants, corporate events and even farmers. The OzHarvest mission is to take good food that would have ended up in landfill and transfer it into the hands of people struggling to get enough to eat.

When OzHarvest asked us to contribute our packaging expertise to their Food Essentials Box project, we jumped at the chance to lend a hand.

From May to August, OzHarvest delivered almost 18,000 nourishing boxes to food insecure people across Melbourne, Bendigo, Mornington Peninsula, Ocean Grove and the Outer East.

“I cannot thank everyone involved in putting these boxes together and delivering them enough. THANK YOU it has made a huge difference” – Food Essentials Box recipient

The Food Essentials Box was developed by nutritionists and each box contains enough quality food to provide 28 meals for a family of four.

Crunching the numbers

As the program expands, 1,800 boxes will be distributed from the OzHarvest Melbourne office every single week.

From May to August, OzHarvest distributed a massive 114,000kg of fresh produce and 113,000kg of pantry items.

During the hard lockdown of some of the Melbourne public housing towers, OzHarvest packed 1,600 boxes of much needed food in just 14 hours.

We couldn’t be more proud to partner with an organisation doing so many kilos of good every day!

“You never think you’ll need to ask for help, but thank you for the help I need”– Food Essentials Box recipient

Looking to the future

Despite the many curveballs 2020 has thrown at us, PPI will continue to use our expertise to help those in need.

To find out more about OzHarvest and learn how to make a donation, click here.

Our dedicated team of designers at PPI Create will customise a packaging or display solution to meet the specifications of your product. Industry knowledge and experience, combined with our commitment and care for your business ensures an optimal packaging solution to transport or display your products.

Connect with us or call us on 1800 25 8000 to book your FREE initial packaging consultation.