Innovation

Since the inception of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Food and Beverage Department has been faced with a problem after the food and beverage service they provide. There has been an immense amount of left-over food which has been filling up the organic waste bins even after staff have had their fair share. After some careful thought and consideration the Kitchen and Food/Beverage department have decided to donate left-over food to the OzHarvest food rescue charity who collects surplus food and supplies it to the less fortunate.

How the process works is, usually after the lunch interval at an event all food is required to be thrown out with usually about 4-5 trolleys full of food being left-over. Instead of filling up bins with countless amounts bread, sandwiches, fruits and vegetables, deserts, beverages and raw meat the Food and Beverage Attendants put the food into plastic containers labelled for OzHarvest which have the date written on them, this ensures all food is not stored for days which may cause some food to go off. Once the boxes are repleted they are stored in cold fridges for pickup by the OzHarvest team and thus, the Convention Centre is making an impact towards zero hunger in their own way.

Inspiration

After observing the aftermath of conferencing events, management at the higher level realised the amount of unused food being put to waste so they initially tried to get everyone on-board the initiative. Processes were then altered to accomodate this initiative with the main one being that food needed to be handled in delicate manner after the event so the quality of food was not compromised for OzHarvest.

Another change which was needed was the safe storage of food as food was usually left out of fridges for some time before being it was considered unsafe. Management made a change where all food was to be put in the cold fridges immediately after service to maintain its quality. Then, final checks are performed by the kitchen logistics manager to ensure food is safe for transfer to the OzHarvest team through temperature checks and records are kept with how much food is being donated to ensure tracking and accountability of all food.

Overall impact

The partnership with OzHarvest has created a mutually beneficial relationship between the company and society/environment. As the company continues to pursue initiatives with OzHarvest there has been long term positive effects of brand recognition as well as short-term effects of helping the less fortunate.

Business benefit

The business has been recognised positively by not only the general public but the employees as well, as they understand the positive impact this has on people in less fortunate situations. This has an on-flowing effect as the company is able to get more clients who will use the Convention Centre for conferences if they see they are taking these initiatives towards a more sustainable environment.

Social and environmental benefit

As Aleks said "one of our main values in the Food and Beverage department is the preservation of food and contributing towards zero hunger". With over 35,000 meals being donated and a various initiatives and rescue systems being pursued, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre have done their part in aiding the less fortunate by preserving unused food at the events. Members of the kitchen team have even further contributed towards this cause by volunteering at the OzHarvest Think Eat Save campaign as seen in the photo above.

Interview

Aleksander Kuzeski, Food and Beverage Team Leader