Every year Australians throw away $8 billion worth of food, while many in the community go hungry.

But OzHarvest embodies the adage waste not, want not – proving that if food isn’t wasted, there’s more than enough to go around.

On a food rescue mission, its iconic yellow trucks pick up generous donations from local businesses and deliver them to charities.

The iconic OzHarvest yellow trucks pick up generous donations from local businesses and deliver them to charities. Photo: Brenton Edwards

“We’re helping the agencies in the community who work with vulnerable and disadvantaged people,” South Australian state manager Hayley Everuss says.

The iconic OzHarvest yellow trucks pick up generous donations from local businesses and deliver them to charities.

“Because the food that we’re bringing them is better quality, fresher than they could usually afford, they are so grateful.”

In a world where the global food system is reaching its limit, OzHarvest also contributes to the increasingly vital goal of food sustainability.

The charity, which started out in Sydney in 2004 with a single van, delivers half a million meals each month across urban and regional Australia.

Stories Well Told spent a day riding shotgun in Buttercup (the van) with driver, Di, chatting with donors and recipients about the impact of food rescue.

From crates of lamingtons to boxes of fruit and veg, it’s incredible to witness just how much food is given a new home by one van in one day.

This story was first published on Stories Well Told.