Charity set up to save wasted hotel quarantine food

There has been a disgraceful amount of food going to waste due to Sydney’s hotel quarantine system, with thousands of kilos of food being sent to landfill. 

After healthy travellers check out of their hotels, their food is being thrown out. Items such as bottles of water, breakfast cereals and fruit are all being discarded. 

The revelation came as Sarah Morris, a mother from the Northern Beaches, was alerted to the problem by her friend and actress Ajay Rochester, who witnessed the wastage first hand after a two week quarantine stay at Sydney’s Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel.

Ms Rochester, former host of The Biggest Loser, encouraged Ms Morris to start a charity project, AOK Community Outreach, where she helps feed the city’s homeless community.

Ms Rochester joined several Facebook pages for Australians in quarantine to share the charity concept. 

There are thousands of members on these pages and many have already jumped on board. 

“What I noticed more than anything (via photos posted to Facebook by returned travellers) was the huge piles of food going uneaten, unopened and turned into landfill,” she said. 

“It broke my heart. People were piling up all the food they weren’t eating and it’s literally being thrown out.” 

Twice a day now, Ms Morris travels to the city centre to pick up food parcels from guests as they check out.

Once she receives the packages, they are cleaned and then stored in her garage for two weeks in “quarantine” to make sure there is no risk to the community. 

She said many hotels have not been willing to get on board, with management citing Food Standards Act regulations which prevent them from doing so.

Irit Jackson, 14^th December 2020