Albany volunteers needed to rescue food from local supermarkets to help people in need

A grassroots community effort to rescue unused fresh food from supermarkets to distribute to people in need is coming to Albany.

Perth-based charity Feed it Forward is looking for locals to join their more than 200-strong volunteer network in the Great Southern.

Operating in about 60 locations across Perth and the South West, volunteers venture to local supermarkets, food stores and restaurants to rescue excess food, baked goods and fresh produce.

In Australia, 7.3 million tonnes of food is wasted every year and about 5 million Australians go hungry.

Feed it Forward founder Monica Morunga already has local Woolworths and Coles stores on board, but is on the hunt for a team of volunteers.

“There’s a lot of waste that we believe we are missing but we are grateful for what we get and so are the communities that we give to,” she said.

Ms Morunga said she was on the lookout for volunteers with their own vehicle with time to pick up and distribute the donations each day.

“We rely on our volunteers to know the places they are dropping off to — the schools with breakfast clubs, soup kitchens that cook for the homeless, the childcare centres, disability support centres, community centres and op shops,” she said.

They are also looking for stores or restaurants that might not know what to do with their excess food waste to get involved.

“We are always on the hunt, looking for food rather than it being thrown in the bin — it is just a matter of contacting us,” she said.

For more information, join the Feed it Forward Maori Stylz Facebook page.