"We had an amazing visit"'ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE WORK WE DO'

A royal visit for Refettorio OzHarvest

"We're very privileged, because when the royals come for 48 hours and they choose to come and visit you," says Ronni Kahn.

Her Majesty Queen Camilla with Ronni Kahn at Refettorio OzHarvest in Sydney.
Her Majesty Queen Camilla with Ronni Kahn at Refettorio OzHarvest in Sydney.

Social entrepreneur Ronni Kahn was thrilled to welcome special guest Queen Camilla to Refettorio OzHarvest in Sydney last week, describing her as “very charming”.

“We had an amazing visit,” Kahn told The AJN.

“We’re very privileged, because when the royals come for 48 hours and they choose to come and visit you, it’s a big sign of approval as well as acknowledgement of the work that we do.”

Kahn founded the food charity OzHarvest 20 years ago and Queen Camilla – then Duchess of Cornwall – first visited it back in 2015. She was so appreciative of the work they do that she agreed to be patron of UKHarvest, which was launched in 2017.

“She loves it, so she came to visit us at our Refettorio, which is our restaurant that provides free lunch with dignity, respect and delicious, beautiful, gourmet food. She was absolutely charmed by it, loved it and loves everything that we do,” Kahn said.

During the visit, Her Majesty got involved in the kitchen with lunch preparation, before sitting down at the table to share stories with some of the Refettorio’s regular guests over lunch made from rescued food.

Kahn said the need for food donations has never been higher in the 20 years since OzHarvest was first established, which is why she is organising a concert called Unite to Feed Australia on November 7.

“Families are going without meals a couple of times a week,” said Kahn.

“This is seriously the worst I’ve ever seen it. So in that spirit, we decided to put on a concert because music is a connector and it’s also a call to action.

“I did say to the Queen, because we have a special guest attending in Sir Bob Geldof, that I think she should come to our concert too. She said she wished she could, but we need everybody else to come because all ticket sales come directly to us and allow us to deliver more meals to more people. Every ticket will allow us to deliver at least 100 meals.”

Kahn said never in her “wildest dreams” did she think OzHarvest would be in its 20th year, but the need is there and it continues to grow.

“OzHarvest delivers one-and-a-half million meals a week and it’s not enough,” said Kahn.

“I’ve got 850 charities on a waiting list.”

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