SecondBite is a charity that repurposes food from grocery stores and restaurants that is still edible and redistributes it to people in need, free of charge.  This saves tonnes of food going unnecessarily to landfill.

For food that is no longer edible, SecondBite works with other organisations to repurpose food waste for compost and fertilising purposes.

In addition to supporting the work of SecondBite, Rotary Club awarded the second annual ‘Environmental Sustainability’ award which is conferred to an entrepreneur who has made sustainable development a cornerstone of their emerging business. 

Last year’s winner was ‘Sweet Justice’, an enterprise that trains young people in the prison system to become expert bee keepers who can assist the agriculture industry.

This year’s winner is Bardee, which uses protein from soldier flies to create high quality products to feed livestock.  The soldier flies feed off decomposing food, and remove multiple tonnes of food waste from going to landfill.

On the day a commendation award was presented to Manon Beauchamp-Tardieu, Managing Director, Little Green Panda.

The menu for the luncheon was devised by Sofitel Melbourne’s chef, in consultation with Matt Preston. The meal was carbon offset with a donation made to a forest project in Timor Leste.

Rotary Melbourne’s World Environment Day Event Panel featured; Lord Mayor Sally Capp, Professor John Thwaites, food critic Matt Preston, United African Farm’s Abiola Ajetomobi, and SecondBite’s Steve Clifford.

Rotary Melbourne is the first Rotary Club established in Australia with a proud one-hundred and one year history. 

Rotary Melbourne is dedicated to all aspects of the Rotary mission, the World Environment Day luncheon highlights its commitments to the seventh pillar of Rotary:  care for the environment. 

Ultimately, care for the environment underpins the achievement of Rotary’s humanitarian purposes in Australia and around the world.