One man’s mission to save good food from landfill: The circular economy in action

Bernardo Tobias, the State Manager for OzHarvest Queensland, is on a mission to reduce food waste and end hunger across Australia. Coming from a family of small-scale farmers from rural Brazil, Bernardo understands the real value of food and its social, environmental and economic impacts on our planet. He began his journey in the food industries as a chef, working in food businesses across three continents for over 15 years. Bernardo’s commitment to fighting food waste began in the early 2000s, when he tried to donate unsold muffins to rough sleepers but was prevented from doing so by outdated liability laws.

He soon found inspiration in the work of OzHarvest’s Ronni Kahn AO, who had successfully changed laws to allow food businesses to donate unsold food to charities. Bernardo then left his senior management job in hospitality to become a Food Rescue Driver for OzHarvest, working his way up to eventually lead OzHarvest’s teams in Victoria, South Australia, and now Queensland.

Bernardo believes that every Australian has a critical role to play in reducing food waste, with one-third of all food waste coming from our homes. On average, each household in Australia wastes between $2,500 to $4,000 worth of food per year, which needs to change. Bernardo wants to see thriving, more circular local economies where food can be grown, commercialised, and consumed locally. He recognises that due to its complexities,  food waste happens at every level of the food system and is calling for a change from the concept of food miles to food metres to promote thriving localised systems that support small local farmers, businesses and communities.

He believes that by working together and taking small steps, everyone, from farmers to consumers, can make a significant impact on reducing food waste and ensuring that no one goes hungry anywhere in Australia.

Bernardo will speak on his approach to food waste and circular economy, with this topic hot on the agenda when the SEGRA Foundation gathers leading Australian politicians, thinkers and doers at this year’s National Regional and Economic Development Summit in Toowoomba from 25-27 July. Dedicated to advancing the economic, environmental and social outcomes for rural, remote and regional Australia, the Summit will focus on a collective approach to solving the biggest issues facing the regions.

Registrations for the National Regional and Economic Development Summit are now open