Volunteering and the Environment: How Helping in the Kitchen Helps the Planet

By Ellie DeMinico

When people think about climate action, they don’t often think of carrots and cutting boards. But at OBK, every meal we make is a small act of sustainability.

Every year in Australia, nearly 7.6 million tonnes of food go to waste. Much of this is still edible. When that food ends up in landfills, it creates methane—a gas that’s far more potent than carbon dioxide. That’s where OBK comes in.

By using surplus food and preparing meals in bulk, we divert perfectly good ingredients from being wasted. And when you volunteer, you become part of that solution.

Take Jay, who came in to volunteer one day and was amazed by the numbers.

Why Volunteering = Sustainability:

1. Less waste: we use ingredients at risk of being discarded

2. Less packaging: bulk prep means fewer single-use containers

3. Less emissions: rescued food avoids methane-producing landfill

4. More impact: each session feeds hundreds and empowers many

Volunteering isn’t just good for the soul, it’s good for the soil, too. At OBK, your three-hour shift helps both people and the planet.

Want to fight climate change with a chopping board? Join us by signing up through this link: https://www.obk.org.au/volunteer