You may have noticed a few more splashes of yellow in the Brisbane community, as OzHarvest recently welcomed two brand new vehicles – Percy and WOW – all thanks to national food rescue partner, Woolworths and the amazing fundraising from their customers at Christmas last year.

The addition of two new Isuzu refrigerated trucks boosts the Brisbane fleet to eight dedicated vehicles and since taking to the streets just a few months ago the new trucks have already delivered the equivalent of over half a million meals to Queenslanders experiencing food insecurity.

OzHarvest Queensland State Manager Amy Cobb said the addition of the two new vehicles would help to meet the growing demand for food relief in South East Queensland.

“We know that one third of all food ends up going to waste, yet there are still so many people in our community who are struggling to put food on the table,” she said.

“The support and generosity we’ve received from Woolworth’s team members and customers has allowed us to expand our food delivery service on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane to rescue food from an additional 17 Woolworths stores, allowing fresh nutritious food to be delivered to 30 more charities that help feed vulnerable Queenslanders.”

Woolworths Queensland State Manager, Matthew Franich, said; “We’re overwhelmed with the generosity of our customers in throwing their support behind the Woolworths OzHarvest Christmas Appeal last year.

“Thanks to their donations, it has helped OzHarvest with securing new transport vehicles to help rescue food and deliver it to the doors of those in need.”

Woolworth’s team members ran a competition to name the new vehicles, selecting the chosen names, Percy paying tribute to Woolworths Founding CEO Percy Christmas, and WOW, as a fun reminder of the Woolworths spirit.

Demand for both food rescue and food relief in Brisbane is growing. In August alone, OzHarvest Brisbane rescued more than 110 tonnes of quality food and delivered it to vulnerable Queenslanders, with the equivalent of over 11 million meals being delivered since OzHarvest Brisbane’s inception.

Nationally, OzHarvest rescues over 100 tonnes of food each week from over 3,000 food donors across Australia including over 60 tonnes per week from Woolworths stores.