Athletes join forces for those in need

13 April 2023

This week five high performance athletes including 2016 Rio Wheelchair Rugby gold medallist Ben Fawcett and Australia’s up and coming women’s hockey talent Josie Lawton joined forces for an importance cause.

Elite athletes from the Victorian Institute of Sport undertook a cooking class with Oz Harvest.

The athletes undertook a cooking class with Oz Harvest, opens in a new tab in Melbourne to help raise awareness and much-needed funds for Australia’s leading food rescue organisation.

Rowing athlete Mila Marston was thrilled to support a cause close to her heart.

“I’ve always been very passionate about food security, waste and the environment and Oz Harvest encapsulates all of that into one great initiative.

“Today we’re cooking meals using rescued food and making meals for people in need…and I think it’s a great initiative to not only use what we have but also give back to the community.”

Oz Harvest delivers 450,000 meals a week to 1,900 charities across the country, however over the last six months 60 per cent of these charities have reported an increase in demand due to the rising cost of living.

To meet demand Oz Harvest rescue around 250 tonnes of fresh and nutritious food each week. Oz Harvest Chef Jill Midlovets said: “Today we’ve got around 50 kilos of food that we’ve rescued which is absolutely amazing…and if Oz Harvest didn’t rescue it, it would have been destined for landfill.”

The initiative was supported by the Victorian Institute of Sport and forms part of the AIS’s Community Partnerships Program which connects elite athletes with community-based organisations around the country.

Those interested in undertaking a cooking class or supporting Oz Harvest can do so here, opens in a new tab.

Ben Fawcett (Wheelchair Rugby), Mila Marston (Rowing), Sussu Liai (Netball), Josie Lawton (Hockey) and Zali Ward (Hockey) undertook the class alongside VIS staff.