Turning Surplus into Support: Barwon Health’s Daily Excess Meal Rescue Program

Turning Surplus into Support: Barwon Health’s Daily Excess Meal Rescue Program

Turning Surplus into Support: Barwon Health’s Daily Excess Meal Rescue Program

One of the most powerful food relief partnerships in our region began with a simple conversation.

At the Barwon South West Food Security Forum in Camperdown last November, Geelong Foodshare met Denis from Barwon Health. During that discussion, Denis spoke openly about a challenge familiar to many large institutions: the unavoidable surplus of freshly prepared meals within a hospital setting. More importantly, he shared a genuine willingness to explore solutions.

From that curiosity and openness, Barwon Health’s Daily Excess Meal Rescue Program was born and it has quickly become a vital source of nutritious, ready-to-eat meals for people in our community doing it tough.

Through the program, surplus meals are safely recovered each day and redistributed through Geelong Foodshare’s Social Supermarkets and partner agencies. These meals, everything from tofu stir-fry to beef bourguignon are collected by volunteers, repackaged with professionally printed sleeves generously donated by Pressroom Philanthropy, and delivered directly to where they are needed most.

The impact is significant.

Australia wastes an estimated 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, while nearly one in three households experiences food insecurity. Behind those statistics are real people in our region single parents skipping meals so their children can eat, or older residents forced to choose between groceries and medication.

Since January 2025, this partnership has diverted more than 6,700 kilograms of nutritious food from landfill, providing the equivalent of over 13,000 meals to the community. Meals are distributed through Geelong Foodshare’s Social Supermarkets and agencies such as The Outpost, which serves dinner 365 days a year.

For Barwon Health, the program demonstrates how sustainability, operational excellence and community wellbeing can work hand in hand. For Geelong Foodshare, it represents exactly what effective food security solutions look like: collaboration, dignity, and practical action.

This partnership is one worth celebrating and one that has already been recognised by the Premier as a model that could be replicated statewide.

Together, Barwon Health and Geelong Foodshare are proving that when organisations are willing to ask questions, share challenges and work together, one conversation can lead to meaningful change for an entire community.