5 Tonnes, 10,000 Meals

This week, the Melbourne Food Rescue Network reached an incredible milestone: 5,242kg of fresh produce rescued and redistributed, generating the equivalent of 10,484 meals for local communities, reached over 17 market days of collection. Since April, surplus fruit and vegetables have been collected every Tuesday from Queen Victoria Marker trader, ensuring good food reaches people instead of landfill.  

The Melbourne Food Rescue Network is a partnership between the City of Melbourne. Queen Victoria Market and its fruit and vegetable traders, social enterprises STREAT and B-Alternative for on-site operations, SecondBite for delivery logistics, and five local organisations receiving the produce to distribute it to those at need it through their weekly programs. 

More Than a Food Rescue Program

To date, 19 fruit and vegetable traders have donated produce through the network, helping rescue more than 130 different varieties of fruit and vegetables, from apples to zucchinis.

The five most rescued items have been:

🍅 Tomatoes
🥑 Avocados
🍇 Grapes
🥔 Potatoes
🍆 Eggplants

Each crate collected represents a trader, volunteer, driver, social enterprises, food relief organisations and volunteer community members working together to ensure perfectly edible food is put to its highest and best use. 

The network has also become part of STREAT’s living lab learning environment. Throughout the program, students from RMIT’s Regenerative Futures Institute have been hands-on in the weekly collections, supporting food rescue operations while exploring broader questions about the future of food systems in Melbourne. 

As part of an innovation initiative, students have been investigating how Queen Victoria Market could be reimagined to incorporate urban agriculture and regenerative food practices, using the market as a testbed for ideas that strengthen circularity, reduce waste and improve community food resilience. The collaboration has created a unique opportunity to connect hands-on food rescue with future-focused thinking about how cities can produce, share and value food differently. 

More Than a Food Rescue Program

One of the organisations receiving produce through the program supports families, older residents and people living in nearby social housing communities. These days, those seeking support stretch far beyond the inner-city boundary. 

Every week, approximately 60 people attend the organisation’s community market, while around 30 enjoy a nutritious weekly community lunch. The fresh produce distributed through the Melbourne Food Rescue Network program helps make these gatherings possible, providing not only nutritious food but also opportunities for connection and belonging. 

During a recent catch-up, the team shared an insight that perfectly captures why food rescue and redistribution matters. 

“Produce that might be considered too ripe or cosmetically imperfect can still be incredibly valuable to our community. People are often happy to trim damaged sections and use the remaining produce for cooking and baking. Very ripe bananas, in particular, are always welcomed for banana bread.”  

Learning Along the Way

One of the most rewarding parts of the program has been discovering the extraordinary diversity of produce moving through the market.

Among the more than 130 different produce types rescued, one unexpected favourite was sapote, a tropical fruit common in Mexico and Central America with a rich, creamy texture often compared to cooked sweet potato.

And while we’ve rescued everything from tomatoes to tropical fruits, perhaps the most surprising item encountered during collections wasn’t produce at all… but a Motorbike Frog – all the way from Western Australia!

Thank Gourdness for Collaboration

Reaching this milestone demonstrates what is possible when businesses, community organisations, local government, education partners and charities align around a shared purpose.

Together, we’ve:

✅ Rescued 5,242kg of edible food and prevented it from going to waste.
✅ Generated the equivalent of 10,484 meals for local communities.
✅ Worked alongside 19 Queen Victoria Market traders in food donation efforts.
✅ Recovered 130+ varieties of fresh produce.
✅ Supported charities delivering food relief, community meals and local markets across Melbourne.
✅ Created learning opportunities for the next generation of changemakers through our partnership with RMIT’s Regenerative Futures Institute.

The Melbourne Food Rescue Network demonstrates what can happen when a market, its traders, charities, community organisations, local government, social enterprise and students come together around a shared vision: that good food should nourish people, not landfill.

A huge thank you to every trader, volunteer, partner organisation and community member who has made this achievement possible.

5 tonnes is an incredible milestone. But more importantly, it’s proof that a more connected, circular and regenerative food system is already taking shape in the heart of Melbourne.