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                    Food and drinks

                    Icon depicting an apple, lunchbox and drink bottle
                    Many businesses sell food and beverages in one form or another. It might be as simple as selling pre-packed bottled drinks or you might be a cafe or restaurant.

                    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Food and beverage choices contribute a significant part of anyone’s environmental impact.

                    Did you know?

                    Every year, 3.3 million tons of food waste is produced, and 2.6 million of that is from households. This is enough to fill the MCG six times.

                    Check out more interesting facts about waste.

                    Australia produces enough food each year to feed around 60 million people – over twice our population – yet many Australians struggle to put food on the table. (Source: War on Waste statistics)

                    Making some small changes to the way you cater at your event can have a big impact on the environment and the people in our community.

                    Infographic depicting five tips for businesses about sustainable food and drink choices. See 'Top five tips' below for full details.  

                    Top five tips

                    1. Provide staff with reusable bottles (or ask them to bring their own) and provide or sell reusable bottles or cups to your customers.
                    2. Provide at least 50 per cent vegetarian and vegan options, and where possible choose chicken instead of beef to cut down on carbon emissions.
                    3. Ask caterers to avoid single use waste products or products with excessive packaging (for example, swap single-serve sauce packets for a condiment station).
                    4. Prioritise catering that uses fair trade, local, seasonal, carbon neutral and any other sustainable food options.
                    5. Engage a social enterprise to supply products, staff or to do your catering.

                    You could also:

                    1. Provide drinking fountains or water stations so people don’t need to buy bottled water. Check out where drinking fountains are located across the City of Melbourne.
                    2. Provide recycling and organic waste collection bins.
                    3. Reward customers for bringing their reusable cups, bags and bottles with discounts or opportunities to enter competitions via social media.
                    4. Add extra cost to single use items to encourage reusable items. For example, make coffees and alcoholic beverages 50 cents extra in takeaway cups.
                    5. Partner with an organisation that collects leftover food and redistributes it to people in need, or compost / send your food waste to a worm farm.

                    Aboriginal and social enterprise caterers

                    ​Organisation
                    ​Contact
                    ​​About us
                    Asylum Seekers Resource Centre
                    ​03 9939 6320 
                    catering@asrc.org.au
                    ​Asylum Seeker Resource Centre are a not-for-profit social enterprise. Their food reflects the rich and diverse cultures of the asylum seeker members, which is expressed in the modern interpretations of classic flavours from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. 
                    ​Bunji Catering
                    Contact Bunji Catering
                    ​Bunji Catering is a corporate catering venture and Aboriginal business built on a shared commitment to Indigenous business development, and career development and advancement, including key community engagements and initiatives across Victoria. Their love of corporate catering comes from a long-held connection to country and shared passion for the hospitality industry
                    Catering For Change
                    catering@forchangeco.com.au
                    ​Catering for Change is the catering venture of For Change Co, social enterprise that invests 100% of profits into impact programs that tackle youth homelessness. Catering For Change can cater to all kinds of public and private events, including markets, festivals, weddings, community, corporate, and school events.​
                    ​Free to Feed

                    Contact Free to Feed​
                    0426 252 334
                    hello@freeto.org
                    ​Free to feed is a social enterprise creating empowering employment opportunities for people seeking asylum and refugees through the creation of shared food experiences. From individual team lunch boxes to shared options made up of mains, salads, sides and mezze, Free to Feed have a catering solution for you.​
                    Mabu Mabu​
                    ​Contact Mabu Mabu
                    ​Mabu Mabu is an Indigenous owned food business on a mission to make native ingredients the hero of the Australian kitchen. 
                    Their food culture is all about sharing and celebrating Australian native ingredients. Their catering menu includes a range of morning and afternoon tea options, lunchbox, sharing and grazing options, and canapes. 
                    ​Meals With Impact

                    Contact Meals With Impact
                    ​Meals With Impact is a Melbourne based work integrated social enterprise that provides hands on training, paid employment, and wrap around support for Women of Migrant and Refugee backgrounds to build pathways for future meaningful work. In addition to offering an impressive menu of culturally diverse catering for events big and small, Meals With Impact also provide culturally appropriate food relief to people who are unable to access a nutritious food source that meets their cultural and religious needs.
                    ​​​The Mission Caters Missioncaters@vt.uniting.org
                    9051 1400​
                    ​​With a focus on employment and training for the long-term unemployed living with a mental illness, The Mission Caters aims to challenge stigma and discrimination in order to develop social bridges that create social inclusion in the community. The Mission Caters provides a range of contemporary Melbourne cuisine from breakfast grazing to full catering selections.
                    Pawa catering
                    quotes@pawacatering.com.au​
                    ​Pawa Catering is an Aboriginal business specialising in Indigenous fusion food. They have made it their mission to showcase the incredible, flavours of native ingredients, and provide a sustainable and environmentally-friendly product and place of employment for Aboriginal communities. 
                    Pawa’s catering services include morning tea, afternoon snacks, platters, hot lunches, and an extensive canapé menu. Pawa has you covered.
                    ​STREAT
                    ​03 9629 4222
                    catering@streat.com.au 
                    ​STREAT offers daily catering, events, artisan bakery goods and coffee roasted in Collingwood.   
                    STREAT is a hospitality social enterprise providing supported pathways for young people aged 16 to 24 in Victoria.
                    Waverley Catering
                    catering@wavind.org 
                    9544 7222



                    ​Waverley Industries is a work integrated social enterprise that bring joy, independence and wellbeing to people with a disability by providing inclusive and meaningful employment in a supported work environment.
                    Waverley Industries’ Catering program has built a reputation for fresh, delicious & consistent quality delivered catering across our diverse and loyal customer base.​

                    Download the infographic

                    Planning template

                    To help you plan for responsible catering at your business, we’ve created a template:

                    Sustainable business: Food and drinks planning template

                    More information

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