A year on the road

Volvo Trucks Australia and Foodbank NSW & ACT delivering food relief where it’s needed most

For the past 12 months, a powerful partnership between Volvo Trucks Australia and Foodbank NSW & ACT has been helping deliver food, hope and support to communities experiencing hardship across New South Wales and the ACT. 

As food insecurity continues to rise, the need for reliable food relief has never been greater. Today, one in three households across NSW and the ACT are experiencing food insecurity, affecting an estimated 1.1 million households. Alarmingly, 682,000 of these households are facing the most severe form of food insecurity, regularly skipping meals or going entire days without eating. Increasingly, this challenge is reaching beyond traditionally vulnerable groups, with 40% of middle-income households now reporting food insecurity compared to 32% just three years ago. 

As the state’s largest food relief organisation, Foodbank NSW & ACT exists to ensure that everyone has access to the food they need. Through partnerships with the food and grocery industry, the organisation sources and redistributes surplus food and grocery products to a network of more than 700 Community Partners, who then provide essential support directly to people in need. 

To strengthen this vital work, Volvo Trucks Australia partnered with Foodbank NSW & ACT in 2025, providing a Volvo FH I-Save prime mover and Vawdrey refrigerated trailer. The vehicle marked a significant milestone as the first dedicated prime mover and trailer of its kind within the Foodbank network nationally. 

Since hitting the road, the truck has become an important part of Foodbank NSW & ACT’s logistics operation, travelling more than 38,000 kilometres across NSW and the ACT. It has collected over 1.2 million kilograms of food and fresh produce, helping generate more than 2.1 million meals for people facing hunger. 

The vehicle has supported everything from Fresh Food Pop-ups and school breakfast programs to emergency relief operations and disaster response efforts. Its increased carrying capacity has enabled Foodbank to collect larger loads of fresh produce from growers and suppliers, reducing reliance on outsourced freight and improving the organisation’s ability to reach regional and remote communities. 

One of its most frequent journeys has been from Glendenning to Hillston, via Nericon and Griffith, collecting fresh produce from suppliers including Mitolo, Rombola and Agrico. The truck’s enhanced capacity has also allowed Foodbank NSW & ACT to share donated produce with other Foodbank branches around Australia, helping maximise the impact of food donations nationwide. 

For Volvo Trucks Australia, the partnership represents a practical way to support communities facing growing cost-of-living pressures.