Learn more about who we are and what we do…
Who’s behind OEF?
We’re a volunteer run registered charity.
Operations are undertaken by a team of approximately 60 volunteers, who work in the Hub and drive two refrigerated vans to collect the food from the various locations.
All volunteers are registered with OEF, have Working With Children Checks and have been inducted in food safety and manual handling.
Where do we work?
The operations are managed from a Knox Council building in Wantirna that has been provided to OEF on a 5 year lease starting in 2025.
Six commercial fridges and freezers together with the dry goods pantry, hold on average two tonnes of food in the Hub at any time.
Each month around 22 tonnes of food is received and distributed.
How are we funded?
The overall operations are funded by a combination of local Government and State government grants, grants from other sources such as the Bendigo community bank, by fundraising, and by private donations.
Where does the food come from?
OEF recieves regular donations from partners such as Foodbank and SecondBite.
We have an account with Foodbank which enables the purchase of staples such as cereal, canned foods, pasta and sauces at discounted prices, plus a weekly share of free fresh fruit, vegetables and some protein. Each week we collect around two tonnes from the Foodbank warehouse in Dandenong.
Through SecondBite we make nine weekly collections of food from four local Coles stores and a local Nando’s Chicken, plus collects occasional bulk pallets of food from the Secondbite warehouse.
We’re very grateful for the good relationship we have with Costco Warehouse Ringwood to enable collections averaging 300kg per day to be collected seven days per week.
We also collect from Aldi, Animal Rescue Cooperative (canned and dry pet food), Rapid Relief Team, The Nappy Collective and various local businesses and farmers.
How do we manage the food?
Food is brought into the Distribution Hub at 51 Templeton St, Wantirna for sorting and short term storage.
Agencies can collect the food from the Hub, some have food delivered to them. Food is distributed to agencies over six days, and the surplus on any one day is stored in either the pantry, a fridge or a freezer.
Around 22 tonnes of food is distributed each month, saving agencies time and money, and saving this food from landfill.
Where does the rescued food go?
We currently support almost 50 local food relief charities by sourcing and distributing ‘rescued’ edible food.
Our best estimate is around 4200 people per week would receive some food that has sourced by OEF.
Located in Yarra Ranges, Knox and Maroondah Councils, the agencies range from Warburton, Croydon and Baywater down to Wellington.
We do not charge agencies for the food, and we share the food out based on the agency size, frequency of operation and types of food they prefer.