Today I launched the rebranding of local food rescue service OzHarvest Canberra to "The Yellow Van".

Although the name of the service will change, the operations of the service will remain the same. The Yellow Van will continue to collect excess food from restaurants and supermarkets, which would otherwise be discarded, and distribute it to charities and refuges around Canberra. The Yellow Van will also continue to be managed by Communities@Work.

OzHarvest Canberra, which was established in February 2008, has previously operated under a licence from OzHarvest Sydney. Operations have now matured to a point where OzHarvest Canberra is able to operate independently, which led to the decision to rebrand the charity to a well-known local symbol of the service - The Yellow Van.

Each month The Yellow Van rescues more than 16,000 kilograms of otherwise wasted food from more than 90 regular food donors, and distributes it to about 70 charities and refuges that help disadvantaged people in our community. There is no charge for the service and it operates with the assistance of volunteers, which keeps operating costs to a minimum and allows food to be delivered for less than $1 per meal.

In addition, the donated food complements the meal needs and helps lower the costs of local charities. This means funding is freed up for use in other areas of operations, such as giving a refuge a coat of paint to brighten up the place.

Earlier this week the Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher, announced that more than 2,900 kilograms of food had been donated to the charity as part of the Food for Fines initiative run by Libraries ACT last month. This campaign encouraged library members to donate tins or packets of non-perishable food in exchange for fines being removed from their membership record.

I would like to thank Communities@Work and all of The Yellow Van volunteers who donate their time and effort to this important service in our community.

I would also like to encourage more of our local businesses to get behind the work The Yellow Van is doing locally. For more information on The Yellow Van visit www.commsatwork.org.