How this Wollongong bakery saves food from landfill and gives back to the community

You might know Alexander’s Bakery Southside for its delicious burek or as a go-to for your morning coffee. What’s less visible is its commitment to reducing environmental impact and supporting people in need—values that drive the bakery’s daily operations. We spoke with owner Carla Urosevski about how these principles come to life, and how a small local partnership can make a big difference.

1. What/how much do you drop off to Vinnies Coniston Hub, and how often?

All our bakery products are freshly made each day, and we never sell items beyond the day they are made. However, since our products are still perfectly good to eat after the day ends, we donate all unsold items. Currently, the Vinnies team collects our donations three times a week from our Corrimal store.

2. How do you fit this donation of leftover food into your daily operations as a business? 

At the close of each day, our staff box up any unsold items and place them in a designated area in our cool room reserved specifically for donations. Our entire team is trained to follow this routine consistently. When the Vinnies team arrives, our staff promptly hand over the boxes.

3. What other things do you do in your business to help reduce food waste?

As a business, we actively work to reduce food waste by:

• Producing smaller batches tailored to sales trends and customer demand
• Analysing daily and weekly sales reports to better predict volume
• Rotating stock efficiently to avoid overproduction
• Training staff on waste minimisation practices
• Donating surplus food (at both our store locations – Corrimal and Wollongong) rather than discarding it.

4. Why is it important to you as a business owner to give back to the community?

Giving back and minimising waste is deeply important to us, partly because of my husband Kaveh’s personal journey. Kaveh grew up facing significant challenges, including periods of homelessness and food insecurity. Born in Iran, he immigrated to Australia at age 13 with his family, and from an early age, he understood what it meant to struggle financially and live with scarcity. This upbringing instilled in him a profound respect for resources and a strong desire to help others.

Although Kaveh is humble and doesn’t often speak about it, community support has been a meaningful part of his life for a long time. One of many examples of this is, when he ran his movement academy (prior to our bakery opening), he led initiatives like ‘Lift, Love, Give,’ where members donated winter clothing and food. He would set up tables in areas all around Sydney where many people experiencing homelessness gathered, personally handing out the donated winter clothing and food to those in need.

Our current food donations feel like a small but important contribution toward a much larger issue, and Kaveh often wishes we could do even more.

Are you an Illawarra food business interested in reducing your waste and diverting surplus food to people who need it? Reach out to us at foodfairness@healthycities.org.au to set up an ongoing partnership, and make sure you join the Illawarra Food Donations Whatsapp group.