Ronni Kahn

Ronni Kahn AO is a South-African born Australian social entrepreneur who founded the food rescue charity OzHarvest. She is a passionate advocate and activist, renowned for disrupting the food waste landscape in Australia. 

As the owner of a successful event company, Ronni saw huge volumes of food going to waste every day, and soon realised she was part of the problem. Knowing that millions of people were going hungry, she knew this was something that had to be fixed. She found a very simple solution for her surplus - she began hand delivering the untouched food from her events to homeless shelters around Sydney. The rest is history. 

In 2004, OzHarvest was established with the purpose to nourish the country. In 2005, Ronni’s determination shone through when together with pro bono lawyers, she lobbied government to have the civil liabilities amendment act passed in NSW to allow good food to be given away for free without any fear of liability to the donor, with all states following suit.

Today, OzHarvest is Australia’s leading food rescue organisation. With Ronni at the helm, a dedicated team of nearly 300 staff and 3000 volunteers reflect and share her devotion for the cause. The charity is established in six states around Australia. The model of OzHarvest has been shared to establish Kiwi Harvest (New Zealand), SA Harvest (South Africa), Japan Harvest and UK Harvest under the Patronage of HRH the Duchess of Cornwall. Beyond rescuing food, OzHarvest delivers powerful food waste and sustainability education. Their roll out of curriculum aligned programs in schools, as well as programs for vulnerable youth, transform lives through hospitality training, increasing community connectedness, self-worth and confidence.

Ronni’s quest to tackle Australia’s food waste problem makes her a lead spokesperson on the issue, appearing regularly in national media, on expert panels and in an advisory capacity to the government. She is a keynote speaker all over the world, inspiring people towards taking sustainable action, and is supported in her mission through close collaborations with some of the world’s finest chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Massimo Bottura, Matt Moran, and Neil Perry. 

Always on the lookout for new ways to innovate, Ronni started the world’s first free supermarket – the OzHarvest Market – based on a ‘take what you need give if you can’ philosophy and founded ForPurposeCo - a sustainable, social-focused business to create revenue for OzHarvest. 2022 sees the launch of OzHarvest’s Refetorrio – a restaurant in collaboration with Italy’s Food for Soul and chef Massimo Bottura that reduces waste, as well as feeding free meals to Australia’s most vulnerable. 

Ronni has received various accolades recognising her achievements, most notably her appointment as Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), Boss Magazine Top 21 True Leaders, Gourmet Traveller’s Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality, Griffith University’s Doctor of the University (honoris causa) and Australian Local Hero of the Year.

Ronni’s journey in the fight against food waste became the feature of the independent film Food Fighter, directed by Dan Goldberg. In 2020 she co-authored her biography; A Repurposed Life, which was nominated for an ABIA award for Biography Book of the Year.