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19/12/2023
Rabobank’s Kimberley Silva with Saveful Ambassador and chef Matt Moran, Saveful founders Kim McDonnell and Mike Chuter, and Rabobank’s Will Banks.
Blackened bananas, floppy carrots, half an onion or brown avocado – the average Australian household wastes around 15kg of food each week despite 70 percent of food binned being perfectly edible.
And now a new app, Saveful, has been developed dedicated to supporting Australian families waste less and save more by reversing the recipe rule book – with Saveful enabling users to make thousands of different dishes with what’s already on hand in the kitchen.
In line with its co-operative roots and rural focus, Rabobank is proudly supporting the initiative, and encouraging households to do more with less.
Rabobank senior brand and engagement manager, Kimberley Silva, said the partnership with Saveful was a perfect fit for the bank.
“As a dedicated food and agribusiness bank, we want to help consumers maximise their food, waste less, and save money in the process,” she said. “We are committed to helping Aussies understand how food gets from farm to fork and tackle the global food waste challenge together.”
Through simple chef hacks, tips, and tricks, the initiative has the potential to save households between $2,000-$3,000 each year, as Saveful users simply ‘swipe right’ on tailor-made recipes to make the most of what is on hand based on their specific budget, taste, cooking skills and dietary requirements.
Whether it’s using those items quickly approaching their used-by dates, giving last night’s leftovers a makeover or simply serving up a delicious dish when the kids ask ‘what’s for dinner tonight?’ From weeknight tacos, roast vegetables or a creamy pasta, Saveful enables Australians to serve up a meal with what they already have, puts to good use those often-forgotten items in the cupboard or fridge and prevents endless trips to the supermarket.
Launched recently in Brisbane, Saveful CEO Kim McDonnell is thrilled to be offering the app to Australian households for free.
“As many are feeling the pinch of rising living costs and looking for practical ways to reduce food waste Saveful will deliver households with the practical tools and convenient solutions they crave.
“From giving those brown avocados sitting on the bench a second life or giving last night’s leftovers a makeover, Saveful will not only divert eatable food away from the waste bin - it will also make the tastebuds and wallets of households sing.”
“Collective action is so critical to achieving our country’s goal of halving food waste by 2030. We are delighted to have the support and backing from a powerful group of brands, producers, retailers, and governments to deliver this positive tool to all Australians.”
“Meaningful support that will enable simple and impactful actions at home that will have a tangible impact on our wallets and our planet.”
Farmer recognition inspires initiative
The founder of social enterprise organisations ‘Thankful’ and later, ‘Thankful4Farmers’, Kim said ‘Saveful’ is an extension of these concepts.
“Thankful4Farmers launched in 2019 after regional and rural Australia suffered horrific drought, followed by bushfires and in some instances floods.”
“There were lots of micro organisations popping up with very good intentions to support our Aussie farmers, and whilst incredibly appreciative, when we spoke to many of these farmers, what they didn’t want was charity or sympathy, but value and recognition for their contribution bringing food to our tables three times a day.”
Thankful4Farmers was launched to change the narrative to one of value and recognition, and Kim said “to remind Australians’ as we walk around supermarkets and stuff our trollies with the most amazing quality of produce, to stop and think about the people who grow it for us and the process it takes.”
“It really is about connecting people to their food, and if you think about the two biggest challenges in the world right now, it’s climate change and food security, and who is sitting at the heart of that solution for both – It’s our wonderful farmers, our front line environmentalists and front of line in the food supply chain.”
Kim explains that through their work supporting farmers from farm gate to dinner plate, they soon recognised the huge amount of food waste that occurs through the supply chain.
“People tend to think that most of the food waste happens at the farm gate or supermarket, but overwhelmingly most food waste happens in our households.”
“When you think about the natural resources and monetary input that goes into growing food that is ultimately wasted, we wanted to dig deep and help change behaviour within the Australian households.”
Acclaimed chef and farmer Matt Moran proud to support Saveful
Synonymous with some of Australia’s most celebrated dining establishments, Matt Moran is the Saveful Ambassador, and is delighted to be involved.
“Eating fresh, seasonal produce is better for us and our planet. A highly intuitive and motivating app, Saveful will reward and help households understand what is in season and ultimately make reducing waste easy, empowering, and fun for the whole family.”
“It’s all about unleashing our food’s full potential, empowering Aussies to do more with less conveniently and helping households reduce food waste by taking something off the plate of busy families – not adding to it.”
Australian households now have the power at their fingertips to save on their grocery bills and put more food on the table - download the free app, enter your dietary requirements, family size and search the food you would like to use .
For more information see https://www.saveful.com/ and download the app via your preferred platform.
