Native South African Ronni Kahn immigrated to Australia in 1998. Since then she has become one of Australia’s best-known faces. As founder and CEO of OzHarvest, she is a passionate advocate for fighting food waste and feeding the hungry. In 2010, her achievements in this field led to her being named Australian Local Hero of the Year and in 2019, she became an Officer of the Order of Australia.
To date, OzHarvest has made 190 million free meals possible through the 1,500 charities it supports. OzHarvest also runs a free Sydney supermarket (take what you want, give if you can), upskills at-risk youth, and educates kids and the community about food waste, cooking and nutrition.
Dubbed “a force of nature” by chef Kylie Kwong, Kahn is as well known for her bold fashion sense, her enthusiasm and ebullience as she is for her social conscience. As she told MiNDFOOD: “People want to know how to find passion and purpose, how to wake up feeling complete. A good place to start is by asking: ‘What does the world most need from me?’
Kahn has co-written a memoir, A Repurposed Life and has been the subject of a feature film, Food Fighter. At 69, she is showing no signs of slowing down. “OzHarvest has given me a new perspective about the fragility of our planet,” she says. “Every single one of us has a role to play in creating a better world.”
Find out more about Ronni Kahn’s journey and her work with Oz Harvest in the October issue of MiNDFOOD, on sale now at MiNDFOOD.com and in supermarkets and bookstores.