Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown—Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault)—2025 marks fifteen years of OzHarvest's work in the Hunter. OzHarvest's yellow van has become an icon in communities across the country, and this is very much the case in the Charlestown electorate. Indeed, OzHarvest Newcastle now has five vans rescuing food from locations all around the Hunter, from Raymond Terrace to Maitland, Cessnock and Lake Macquarie, as far south as Wyong. They report over 175,000 meals delivered every month, partnering with 98 donors for a total of over nineteen million meals over the past fifteen years. They have also supported more than a hundred charities. Their food relief hub at PCYC Lake Macquarie in Windale was established in 2020, and helped to deliver almost a quarter of a million meals during the COVID-19 pandemic: an enormous help to so many people who did it particularly tough during lockdowns. OzHarvest also runs the Nourish Program, which helps young people aged between 16 and 25 who face barriers to education, employment and training attain a Cookery II qualification, alongside FEAST, a curriculum-aligned education program for school students, and NEST, a six-week nutrition and education program.

A Community Recognition Notice is an opportunity for an MP to submit a short statement praising the work of an individual or group in the local community. If you have any ideas about people I can recognise with a Community Recognition Notice, please email and let me know!