Getting To Know: Ronni Kahn, Founding Director of OzHarvest

Ronni Kahn has a wonderful story to tell. If you haven’t heard of her then she won’t mind - in fact, she’ll know her plan to be but one of many, behind the scene, is truly working.

Ronni is the Founding Director of OzHarvest, a charity she began just over five years ago in Sydney. Since then it has rescued over three million meals from being totally wasted and ending up as landfill.

OzHarvest collects surplus food from retailers, restaurants, food outlets and the like 6 days a week in Sydney, Wollongong and Canberra. It’s then delivered directly and free of charge to over 150 charities in the same regions. Each month alone over 100 000 meals are provided for the needy through the efforts of OzHarvest.

I became aware of Ronni Kahn a couple of years ago. I thought the idea of collecting good fresh food, that would otherwise be totally wasted, and giving it to others just brilliant.  What a privilege it was to chat with her and get to know a little more about this wonderful woman. (Having the chance to meet women like Ronni and tell their stories was what really made me determined to get WomensNook up and running.)

Ronni has been warm, generous and enthusiastic in sharing her story, all the while at pains to point out that when it comes to OzHarvest she is but a part of a much greater whole.

Ronni, you are the inspiration behind Ozharvest. What are the main points you’d like us all to understand about the charity?

There are three things that I think are important:

• We collect excess perishable and unsold food and distribute it to needy people in Sydney. We go to bakeries, film shoots, functions, boardrooms, food outlets and the like to ‘pick up’ at the end of every day. It’s not gathering food served to people that has been left on plates, as some seem to imagine.
• By saving food that would otherwise be dumped as landfill we are feeding needy people and helping to diminish our impact on the environment.
• We are non-denominational so anyone in need who goes to a shelter or charity can receive our food.
• Our food is picked up by volunteers and delivered for free

Earlier this year I noticed publicity for a ‘lunch’ day where people in Sydney were asked to donate the cost of their lunch to OzHarvest. - it sounds a simple enough idea but how hard is it to raise awareness and money?

Well, we raised $ 43 000 and lots of awareness for our cause in that campaign. Our aim was to have 10 000 people donate $10 (the cost of a bought lunch) but with the bushfires in Victoria and the financial climate it was understandably hard to reach our desired targets at that time.

I believe you learn by doing so the next campaign will focus on a really simple idea: One dollar=One meal. That’s approximately what it costs us to provide meals through OzHarvest. Just think - if 1 million people could each donate $1 then we can provide one million meals to the needy in our community. What an amazing achievement that would be!

What is your background?

I was born in South Africa, moved to Israel when I was 17 and came to Australia when I was 37. I have 2 grown-up sons and call Sydney home.

I came to Sydney with very little but through hard work I was able to achieve a level of success. For me, success means security, not possessions. People often say to me ‘I’d love to do what you do but I’m not rich’ and I have to assure them that I’m definitely not rich in the monetary sense either but I feel as if I’ve won the lottery in other ways. Not being rich is an excuse, not a reason, for doing nothing.

Where did you get the idea for QzHarvest?

About 5 years ago I looked at myself, my two wonderful  healthy and inspirational sons, the roof over my head and my overall sense of security. And yet I felt restless. I needed something more in my life. My then partner was providing all the material wealth I could ask for but it had all lost its attraction over time and I began questioning the values in my life.

I went to visit a close friend, Dr Selma Browde in South Africa. She works on projects in Soweto. She took me to an Aids clinic where I had a ‘eureka moment’. Life no longer felt the same and from that time on I knew I had to find a way to make a difference.

I thought about volunteering for a charity or finding a way of using my own skills to create something. I had been in event management and I was aware that there was always food left after each function. I abhor waste and so I thought the best way to use my organisational skills and avoid food wastage was to create a link between the two. Of course it didn’t take long to realise just how much good fresh food is left at the end of any given day all over Sydney and elsewhere.

I had heard about Helen verDuin Palit, the founder of America Harvest so I went to America to see her, learn from her and then came back to Australia with an idea of how it might work here.

What challenges did you face?

• It had never been done in Australia so there was some convincing to be done
• Figuring out the logistics of collecting and distributing fresh food daily
• The need to educate the givers that it was safe to pass on food
• Finding good people willing to help in many different ways

I’m a firm believer that the universe does provide once you start asking the questions. Although it felt as if things happened very quickly it actually took about a year to establish. All the while I had strength from knowing that it would be worth it.

When I look back now the important things I remember are that to do something properly and in depth does require time and that you must gather like-minded people along the way because it’s all about togetherness. There was a passion that created energy that in turn motivated us all to act.

How do you feel about what you have achieved?

I consider life to be full of opportunities so I haven’t felt as if it’s been hard at all. I am the happiest I’ve ever been. Although I came up with the idea of starting OzHarvest and am the face of the charity I know that my motives have always been focused on feeding needy people with food that would otherwise be thrown away. It’s not my role that’s important.

What is your attitude to life?

• ‘What a gift!’
• That I only have ‘now’ so I live in this minute
• To be gentle, caring and loving with myself and others - I’m quite spiritual in the way I view life

Do you have a motto for life?

‘We are not put on this earth for ourselves’

What are your personal interests away from OzHarvest?

I love physical exercise. For me, swimming is a metaphor for life. I swim every morning. Every time I stand there, about to dive in it feels like I’m about to dive into life. When the cold hits you it’s like a challenge, but it’s also the most exhilarating experience.

I also love to run and bushwalk as often as I can.

I enjoy listening to Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen and my sons, The Kahn Brothers, and reading is a great pleasure too.

What are your favourite books?

• Three Cups of Tea is the story of Greg Mortenson, an American climber, and his efforts to address poverty, educate girls and overcome cultural divides in Pakistan. It is just the most amazing tale of what an individual can achieve for others
• Leaving Microsoft to Change the World by John Wood is the story of passion, his greatest successes and his life’s work, found after a soul-searching trip to the Himalayas.
• A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry depicts life in India with all its exquisite pathos, pain and dignity. An extraordinary novel and definitely one of my favourites.

Are there women who inspire you?

• Dr Selma Browde, the friend I mentioned. She lives and works in South Africa.
• Helen verDuin Palit who started America Harvest
• My two sisters and my late mother.

What are your hopes?

That OzHarvest lasts forever and that I can continue doing lots of other ‘not for profit’ things - I’ve really found my niche working like this.

What do you think sustains you in life?

I am overwhelmed by how wonderful it feels to do some good in the world and how important the feeling of community is to me.

What do you think about getting older?

It allows for character development. It shows you that there is still so much to learn. I’m not scared about getting older, just excited at the opportunities.

My thanks to Ronni Kahn for making her time available and sharing her story with us here on WomensNook.com

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