Rewinding the clock back to 1993, the idea of Foodbank in Western Australia was born. The wonderful people at the Lotteries Commission provided us a $15,000 grant for a feasibility study under the stewardship of Doug Paling for the need and viability of food relief in Western Australia. This proved beyond a show of a doubt that there was a food insecurity problem in our State and by late October 1994, we opened our doors and served our first customer at our original premises in Belmont.

Our first nutrition education session was held not long after in 1995 with the first of many participants learning how to eat healthy on a budget under the FoodCent$ pilot program. The following year saw the official launch of the program with support of the Department of Health.

In a move that would revolutionise how we operated forever, we opened the doors to our first regional branch in August 2000 to provide food relief in Albany and the Southwest. Our rapid expansion continued with our Peel branch opening the same year followed by Geraldton in 2003, Bunbury in 2004 and Kalgoorlie, our first purpose-built premises in 2011, followed by Geraldton in 2016.

Recognising kids were going to school without breakfast we partnered with schools around Western Australia to provide healthy brekkies through our School Breakfast Program which came to life in 2001 with just 17 schools. Today we have 552 schools registered all across our state and feed 26,100 students a week who would otherwise go without breakfast, and in some cases the program even ensures lunch for some of the most vulnerable.

Our passion for nutrition and education grew over the years to encompass a Healthy Food for All vision and the introduction of our Superhero Foods® HQ characters in 2013 which made teaching kids about nutrition a lot more fun.

In 2014 we introduced our Perth Airport School Fruit Van which to this day delivers 10kg boxes of fruit a week to 75 schools with thanks to Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and McCusker Foundation.

As the need for our services grew, we moved locations, firstly to Welshpool and then finally to the Perth Airport precinct where we moved to our purpose-built Centre for Hunger Relief thanks to the Department of Communities, Lotterywest and BHP in 2015. The only Foodbank Community Kitchen in Australia came to life here, with the first ready to eat frozen meal produced that same year. Our amazing Community Kitchen changes surplus ingredients into delicious and healthy ready to eat meals for customers and reduces our food waste greatly.

Our commitment to our local communities grew further in 2016 when we recognised that we were in a position to assist with natural disasters that can cause unexpected food insecurity, and we joined the frontline emergency relied on to support the Yarloop fires. Followed by so many more.

Our Mobile Foodbank hit the road in 2019 taking Foodbank into the suburbs to reach more people in Armadale, Midland, Joondalup, Fremantle, Willagee and Ellenbrook. We now have 76 locations regionally and in the metro area.

Recognising the need for consistent availability of staples, in 2023 we launched Everyday Food Essentials to ensure we always had this range available to customers.

We continue to and adapt and innovate to ensure we support our customers with the dignity and respect each and every individual through our doors deserves. Continuing on our journey to provide healthy and nutritious food for those most vulnerable in our community, we thank each and every person who has supported us along the way. 

Before use

• Always wash your hands before and after handling raw meat.
• Do not wash meat or chicken before use, this could cause bacteria to be carried by the water and splashed around the kitchen. It is better to ensure the meat is cooked thoroughly.

Storage

• Keep food at safe temperatures, cold food below 50C and hot food above 600C.
• Always store raw meat in the fridge and below 50C – this reduces the risk of food poisoning by either stopping or slowing the growth of bacteria. 
• Raw meat should be stored on the lowest shelf in the fridge to prevent contamination of other foods.
• Tip – the lower shelves of a fridge are usually the coldest!
• When storing meat in the freezer, wrap it and mark it with the date it was frozen. This effectively puts the use by date on pause. If the meat has 2 days until the use by prior to freezing, then it will have 2 days left after thawing. 

Preparation

• Always defrost meat in the refrigerator or microwave, NOT on the bench top or in water.
• Use a separate chopping board for raw meats and other foods.
• If cooking chicken, pork, sausages or mince make sure it is cooked all the way through and the juices run clear.  

Storage after cooking

• After cooking you need to follow the two-hour/four-hour rule.
• Less than 2 hours, you can eat or once stopped steaming, cover and refrigerate. Leftovers can be kept for no longer than 2-3 days in the refrigerator, then either eat, freeze or throw away.
• Between 2 and 4 hours post cooking: consume food immediately or throw away.
• More than 4 hours post cooking: food must be thrown away as it is not safe to eat or store.

Tip: use by versus best before

• Use by: Food safety: food is not safe to eat past the use by date.
• Best before: Food quality: the food may still be safe to eat, however the nutritional value and the quality of the food may have deteriorated. 

For the person down the road from you, it could be an unexpected bill, a school expense, a family breakdown or serious illness. For your elderly neighbour it could be that they are the victim of Elder Abuse. 

Elder abuse is when a person causes harm or distress to an older person who has a relationship of trust with them – like an adult child, their partner or a carer.

While the term Elder Abuse seems like a relatively new phrase, the heartless crime itself has been around for a long time. As with most types of abuse, Elder abuse can be very obvious or it can be very subtle and hard to spot. It can be a type of domestic and family violence, and can include physical abuse, psychological or emotional abuse, social abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. It can be short-lived, or it can be a pro-longed and planned method of control and manipulation.

Some examples of Elder abuse include living in the older person’s home and refusing to help pay for expenses, or refusing to care for the older person after agreeing to. It can also be refusing to pay back loans or abusing Power of Attorney or stealing money or belongings from the older person, or forcing an older person to sign a Will, contract, Power of Attorney or Enduring Guardian appointment. 

Neglecting the older person, for example, failing to provide them with food or medical care is also classified as Elder abuse as is bullying, name-calling, verbal abuse, or treating an older person like a child. Physical abuse is also not uncommon, with pushing, shoving or being rough with an older person being classified as Elder abuse, as is any unwanted sexual contact.

Financial scams targeting older people are also frequent, taking advantage of vulnerable people through identity theft, fraudulent payments for care or services that weren’t provided, Government impersonation scams and the list goes on.

A report published by the Australian Institute of Family Studies in December 2021 found that a shocking 1 in 6 older Australians reported experiencing abuse, making Elder Abuse a very serious problem.

Elder abuse has many far-reaching consequences, financially it can be completely crippling, even leading people to falling below the poverty line. Often going under-reported due to embarrassment or shame, Elder abuse can lead to individuals life savings being wiped out and those people having to struggle to make ends meet when they are at a very vulnerable stage in the lives, often not in a position to rebuild their lives.  

No matter how big or small the deception, it can leave older adults and their families financially and emotionally devastated.

There are many misconceptions about what leads individuals to reach out for a helping hand at Foodbank, and everyone has their own story. We strive to be the safety net that people need when their lives take an unexpected turn, to ensure that they can keep a roof over their heads and their power on. If we can ensure that everybody has access to fresh and nutritious food, then those struggling in our communities have one less thing to worry about.

Let’s catch them before they fall.