Simone Carson

As a registered nurse with a keen interest in children's health, Simone has been a long time passionate supporter of medical research and the work of institutes such as St Vincent's Institute of Medical Research. The primary focus of Simone's career has been focused on advocating for an end to food insecurity. She has been instrumental in leading the growth of SecondBite, expanding its scope from redistributing high quality surplus fresh food to the community, to also building community skills in food preparation and nutrition.

An extraordinarily sustainable way of reducing the rising problem of food insecurity, Simone's work with SecondBite has since paved the way for the introduction of many other successful community programs, such as FoodMate and Fresh NED. Over the years Simone has demonstrated that by providing practical skills and knowledge, and demonstrating that cooking and healthy eating can be enjoyable, the community can help to break the cycle of disadvantage.

Profoundly, Simone has been central to developing a food rescue model that is scalable, collaborative, and can be adapted to meet local needs. Reflecting Simone's strong belief in collaboration, SecondBite works with other organisations, such as Rotary and the Australian Red Cross, to deliver Community Connect—SecondBite's innovative food rescue model—in a wide variety of communities across Victoria.

Simone's dedication to making healthy food available to every individual was recognised earlier this year when Simone and her colleagues received a global award as 2015 Social Entrepreneur of the Year from the Schwab Foundation—the sister organisation of the World Economic Forum. Simone and her colleagues were the only Australians to be recognised.