Amanda was doing everything she could to keep her family afloat – working, studying, raising two kids, and helping others in need. But when crisis hit, everything she had carefully pieced together began to fall apart.

A social worker, domestic violence survivor, and single mum of three, Amanda had just used the last $200 in her bank account. It wasn’t spent on groceries like she’d planned – it went to pay for a tow truck after her car broke down in the middle of the highway.

“On my way home, my car blew up in the middle of the highway.”

Amanda had been delivering food hampers to friends who were struggling – only to find herself in need of help soon after.

“The tow truck company charged me $700. I had $200 left in my account and showed them — they still took it.”

It was all she had left for food. And there was nothing at home.

“The previous week, we’d only had $20 for food and had worked through the last packets at the back of the pantry.”

With no groceries, Amanda felt she couldn’t send her kids to school while they were hungry. And with school off the table, she couldn’t go to work. The cycle of hardship spun faster.

“If we haven’t had enough food in the house, I can’t send them to school. So we miss a day of school because I can’t feed them.”

“And with the prices of groceries constantly going up, I can’t guarantee that I can always buy enough that they’re going to be filled up.”

Just when Amanda had nothing left, there was a Foodbank Queensland Food for Kids hamper waiting at her children’s school.

Packed with pantry staples like pasta, rice, noodles, and muesli bars, the food meant her kids could eat and sleep with full tummies.

“Plain rice is so simple, but you can take it so for granted until you don’t have food, and then a bowl of rice is like magic.”

“Being able to fill them and not have them go to bed hungry with their tummies grumbling is a big thing.”

The hamper also included colouring-in sheets that sparked joy in the middle of chaos.

“It was just this fun thing we got to open and be excited for and put in the cupboard and do an activity. It was just kind of a healing moment in amongst all the chaos.”

“It was just knowing we had this box of food that I didn’t have to scrape and scrounge for, that I didn’t have to drag three kids through the shops for.”

Even when she’s the one in crisis, Amanda is thinking of others.

“A lot of hampers I’ve received have ended up helping multiple families because I’m able to hand them out to people I know that need them who are also struggling.”

This is the power of your support. You’re not only helping families through tough times, but creating a ripple effect of kindness in the community.

Amanda is deeply grateful for that help.

“Thank you, because it makes a bigger difference than you realise. That bag of rice, that tin of beans — that can be life-changing for people.”

“The amount of lives that can be changed just by food alone is incredible.”

“Being able to feed people is one of the most underrated things that you can do for someone… it can often be just what they need to be able to get up the next day and tackle the rest of the things that they need to tackle.”