Occupation Social entrepreneur | Name Ronni Kahn | |
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Nationality Australian / South African / Israeli Known for Founder of the Australian food rescue charity, OzHarvest | ||
Ronni kahn australia s local hero 2010
Ronni Kahn is an Australian social entrepreneur, best known for founding the food rescue charity OzHarvest.
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Ozharvest food rescue ronni kahn
Biography
Born in South Africa, Kahn moved to Israel where she lived on a kibbutz for many years before emigrating to Australia with her then-husband in 1998 and started an events management business. On a vacation to South Africa, she was inspired by a friend when visiting Soweto who told her that "she was responsible for electricity in Soweto". Kahn recalls that "..at that moment she realised that her life could never be the same again. And that I had to come back and do something meaningful for other people..." Building on her experience in corporate hospitality, she was shocked by the waste and founded OzHarvest in 2004, initially with the support of people in the restaurant and catering industries in Sydney.
It was important to Kahn to lobby for changes to civil liability and health legislation which prevented food donors from supplying excess food. The legislation was changed in four Australian states starting in NSW in 2005.
Kahn was the 2010 winner of the Australian Local Hero Award in recognition of her work founding OzHarvest, a non-denominational charity that rescues excess food which would otherwise be discarded and distributes the food to charities supporting the vulnerable in Sydney, Newcastle, Adelaide and Brisbane.
Kahn was behind the creation of the NEST program – Nutrition, Education & Sustenance Training which aims to educate vulnerable Australians about nutrition and healthy eating, providing valuable life skills to disadvantaged and marginalised communities.
In her advocacy, Kahn highlights the broader global issues affecting food waste. In 2014 OzHarvest for the second year partnered with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on the Think.Eat.Save Campaign.In December 2014 Ronni travelled to attend the Sustainable Innovation Forum in Lima, Peru as part of the Think Eat Save campaign - held at the margins of the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference. The event serves to remind delegates of the level that food waste contributes to dangerous greenhouse gasses which affect climate change and the amount of resources squandered on field of crops that may never be consumed.
Awards
Ronni Kahn has been acknowledged as a leader in the fields of entrepreneurship, social impact and innovation. Her contributions have been widely recognised through numerous awards including: