Hundred of kilos of food donated to Western Australians in need

We have donated to three local food relief organisations as a result of the historic, fast-finishing Ashes Test at Optus Stadium.

With all premium hospitality spaces sold out for Day three, and only a handful of general admission tickets left, the stadium’s food outlets were fully stocked and ready to welcome a big crowd.

At about 4pm on Saturday, as Travis Head raced towards one of the greatest innings in Ashes history, it became clear that the West Test would end early.

Optus Stadium CEO Mike McKenna said the stadium’s experienced food and beverage team quickly pivoted from set up to stock recovery. Comprehensive plans developed during the COVID-19 pandemic – when crowds were locked out of a number of AFL matches – were rolled out.

“Minimising food wastage is one of our key aims, so the team worked really quickly to identify what stock could be set aside for food relief and what could be repurposed,” Mr McKenna said.

“We’ve been working closely with OzHarvest since we opened and it was really helpful to be able to call on them at short notice to help.”

Given the size of the donation – the biggest provided by the stadium to date – OzHarvest has partnered with two other local organisations, SecondBite and Foodbank WA to distribute the products to charities, schools, women’s refuges and individuals in need across the metropolitan area.

The stadium donated:

“Every effort has been made to maximise food recovery,” Mr McKenna said.

“Our chefs are busy turning about 450kg of sliced tomatoes into passata, some of the excess milk will become white sauce and lemon wedges preserved for future use.

“Being able to support those in need is really a silver lining for the stadium team.”