LOCAL food rescue service OzHarvest Canberra has this morning changed its name to The Yellow Van.

Although the name of the service will change, the operations of the service will remain the same. The Yellow Van will continue to collect excess food from restaurants and supermarkets, which would otherwise be discarded, and distribute it to charities and refuges around Canberra.

The Yellow Van will also continue to be managed by Communities@Work.

“OzHarvest Canberra, which was established in February 2008, has previously operated under a licence from OzHarvest Sydney. Operations have now matured to a point where OzHarvest Canberra is able to operate independently, which led to the decision to rebrand the charity to a well-known local symbol of the service – The Yellow Van,” Deputy Chief Minister Andrew Barr told this morning’s name-change ceremony.

“Each month The Yellow Van rescues more than 16,000 kilograms of otherwise wasted food from more than 90 regular food donors, and distributes it to about 70 charities and refuges that help disadvantaged people in our community. There is no charge for the service and it operates with the assistance of volunteers, which keeps operating costs to a minimum and allows food to be delivered for less than $1 per meal.”