Foodbank NSW & ACT helping rural and regional communities affected by drought

Foodbank NSW & ACT is here to support drought-affected farming communities for the long haul. With the support of generous donors and volunteers, we have packed and distributed 5,000 food and 5,000 household/personal care hampers to charity partners in drought-affected communities. Each food hamper provides a family of four approximately one week’s worth of meals and the household/ personal care hampers are filled with cleaning and sanitation items.

These hampers compliment the existing food relief we provide to regional and rural NSW. Foodbank is here for the long haul and we understand that drought takes an incredibly long time to recover from which is why we’re working with our partners across the food and grocery sector, and our broader community, to provide ongoing and additional food and grocery assistance – not only now, but right through the drought recovery period.

Foodbank NSW & ACT has strong, established relationships with its 280 rural and regional charity partners that are built on trust and years of experience helping people in need. We will continue to work closely with them in bringing relief to drought-stricken communities. It’s important to recognise that Foodbank plays one part in a much wider effort from many charities and organisations working collaboratively to provide the most effective and efficient relief to affected communities. Every little bit counts – for those both directly and indirectly affected by the drought.

Shiralee, farmer and mother from Parkes is just one of the Australian’s who is impacted by the drought. Shiralee and her husband’s farm has been in the family for five generations and they are facing the horrifying prospect of being forced to walk away from it all. Support from Foodbank allows families like Shiralee’s to access food so they can afford to keep their farm.

I go to the Foodbank pantry in Parkes every Thursday morning and they give me what they can; they have bags of fresh fruit and vegetables, and dry goods on the shelf, like flour to make damper.

I’ve also received personal care packages for me and the kids that had soap, toothpaste, and shampoo so that’s been a massive help. – Shiralee

Is the food you provide to charities of good quality?

Yes. Every year millions of kilos of good food goes to waste in Australia. What we do is called ‘food banking’, where we capture both perfect – and imperfect, safe to consume –surplus food from food manufacturers, producers and retailers. We also work collaboratively with manufacturers to coordinate the production, processing, and packaging of a range of staple food products including cereal, milk, bread, fresh fruit and vegetables.

Western Sydney Wanderers partner with Foodbank NSW & ACT

In November 2018, The Western Sydney Wanderers kicked off their partnership with Foodbank NSW & ACT by collecting food at the Sydney Derby and volunteering their time packing hampers, just in time for Christmas.

This large scale food drive was determined to collect non-perishable food to support families in Western Sydney and other parts of NSW this Christmas. Fans and attendees of Wanderers were asked to bring along non-perishable foods as well as personal hygiene and simple household items for collection at the Wanderers v Sydney FC match in December 2018.

Foodbank’s vision is to achieve an Australia without hunger and with the support of Wanderers and their fans, 160 kilograms of food was collected on match day to help Aussies going without.

Foodbank NSW & ACT’s CEO Gerry Andersen said the organisation was happy to partner with another business in Western Sydney.

The Wanderers and Foodbank food drive is a great initiative and we’re really happy to be part of it, and we just know that the people we’re serving and providing food to will be so appreciative, so we thank the Wanderers already.

Wanderers players Remy Siemsen and Josh Risdon came on board as Ambassadors for the cause and were part of a group of Wanderers staff and players who packed and labeled hampers to those in need in the lead up to Christmas in 2018.

Rodger Corser fighting hunger at Addison Road

Late last year, Foodbank’s national ambassador, Rodger Corser spent the day volunteering at Addison Road Community Centre to help distribute food to the Inner West community. Rodger was genuinely humbled to be fighting hunger with Foodbank and providing much needed food to Australian’s experiencing hardship, especially.

Addison Road Community Centre is a truly amazing pantry. The volunteers are dedicated to making a positive impact on those living within their community by providing affordable staple items and fresh produce. This allows local community members to pay bills on time and still access quality, nutritious food.

Addison Road is also invested in reducing food waste in the Inner West. Foodbank has partnered the pantry with local businesses like Bob & Pete’s, so quality food doesn’t go to waste. Bob & Pete’s regularly donates to Addison Road when there are surplus baked goods, to provide locals with the basic staples such as bread while reducing food waste at the same time.