For the last five years, Foodbank Queensland and FareShare Brisbane have been working closely together to support Queenslanders in need.

Foodbank Queensland plays a crucial role by providing the majority of ingredients for FareShare’s Brisbane kitchen. Foodbank takes pride in supplying these essential resources that FareShare transforms into nutritious, ready-to-eat meals for those in need. Working hand in hand, to ensure that donated food reaches its fullest potential, this partnership serves as a lifeline for individuals and families experiencing hardship in Queensland.

The produce Foodbank Queensland provides to FareShare includes fresh produce rescued from Queensland farms. This produce is donated directly to Foodbank due to several reasons, such as not meeting supermarket specifications or oversupply. Instead of this perfectly edible food going to waste, Foodbank rescues the produce and freely provides it to FareShare to prepare into meals.  Ben O’Donoghue, Foodbank Queensland Ambassador, joined James, Production Manager at FareShare Brisbane on a tour of the facility recently, Ben commented,

“It was amazing to be shown the impressive cooking facilities and kitchen at FareShare. The awesome work that Foodbank and FareShare complete together is essential, not only helping Queenslanders in need but also farmers and the environment.” – Ben

The rise in meal production has been essential, as the growing demand for support by FareShare and other food relief charities continues to rise.

“January saw a double in production of nutritious meals from 54,000 in 2023, to just over 109,000 meals in 2024.” – James

These meals are mostly packaged in a single-serve container, packed with protein and vegetables. These ready-to-eat meals include casseroles, stir-fry’s,  soups, pasta dishes and stews.  Each week, the menu changes depending on what produce, and groceries are donated. This requires the staff at FareShare to not only be experienced in the kitchen but also creative and flexible in their cooking with the added support of a 400 strong volunteer workforce.

“For many people, a FareShare meal will be the only meal of the day and our chefs do everything possible to make it count.”

After FareShare chefs cook up tasty meals, Foodbank Queensland distributes them to frontline charities. This partnership ensures that together, Foodbank and FareShare are helping as many Queenslanders as possible,

“We certainly can’t work without Foodbank. The support that Foodbank gives us as far as logistical support is huge. It’s invaluable. Produce received from Foodbank enables us to create a diverse & culturally appropriate nutritious meal for zero cost to charity agencies.  385,000 tonnes of surplus, rescued & donated produce last year has helped a vast number of families right across Queensland, from as far north as Mornington Is, Carins, Mt. Isa, Townsville, Dalby, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, St. George, Gold Coast.   – James

FareShare is also continuing to expand its other programs including its First Nations Program, ‘Meals for the Mob’, as well as creating non-perishable meals, ideal for providing food relief in remote and regional Australia, and for communities impacted by natural disasters.

As this partnership continues, Foodbank Queensland hopes to further expand its reach and impact to communities across the state, including distributing FareShare meals to rural Queensland.

However, this is not possible without your support. By donating to Foodbank Queensland, you can directly contribute to providing nutritious meals to those facing hardship in Queensland. Donate here to make a difference.

Stepping inside Redland Community Centre, you’ll be greeted by a variety of fruit, veg and clothes available for free. Should you require further relief, friendly staff and volunteers are ready and waiting to help.

From free counseling services, emergency relief, homelessness support, financial counseling, and food relief parcels, the Redland Community Centre offers a wide variety of services for anyone who finds themselves in need of assistance.

Recently, those who require this assistance has not only increased but also changed, as Ronan, Operations Manager at the Centre explained:

“It’s been busier, but it’s been different. What it has been is a shift in the demographic. The demographical shift that’s happened is about those who are working poor, the mum and dad, the families that, could just afford it before are now struggling. They’ve never had to access services before, so they’re accessing services now because they just can’t make ends meet. They’re working full time; they’re working their butt off.” – Ronan

Open five days a week, struggling families can access the support they need. Each day between 10 to 20 people use the Emergency Relief service available. Those accessing this program range from the ages of 15 to 80+. Allison, CEO of Redland Community Centre, spoke of one such elderly service user who had found herself in extreme circumstances. Allison explained:

“Four doors down from the centre, an elderly lady was eating cat food. Her house looked great, but inside she was struggling. She had children that were interstate, but she didn’t tell them. We got involved, we advised her not to eat the cat food and we gave her food. We phoned up her son, and her son was horrified. He said, ‘What?’ She didn’t say anything like that, and the elderly won’t. They don’t want to bother their children.”

The centre organised for the lady to fly down to her son, now reunited she is living a much better life. This is just one of the countless examples of how the Redland Community Centre betters the lives of community members. While over 80% of service users first connect with Redland Community Centre during a crisis, many find their other programs to also be of great assistance. Allison described the journey:

“When they arrive here, they are pretty desperate. They get serviced in Emergency Relief through the assessment with crisis support. It might be a home-cooked hot meal that we provide them. Then they’re moved through another program, it could be through Homeless United, which will pick them up and we will actively support that client to be housed if that’s what they want. Our focus is on the client.” – Allison

Homeless United, a program that began in 2017, started after Allison saw an unmet need in the Redland community. This saw 25 homeless individuals, each night of the week provided with a home-cooked meal. One requirement, Allison said was, “You joined our table. You didn’t take the meal and wander off into the darkness. We wanted you to come back and join society. Whatever that meant.”

For two decades, Lighthouse Care has been a valued Foodbank Member Charity, serving as an essential pillar within the Loganholme and Hillcrest communities. Founded by the Hill family, Lighthouse Care was sparked by Debbie Hill’s personal experience during a challenging period:

“My eyes were opened to a different world, and I said to my husband, we’re just going to give our lives to bring you hope. It was as simple as giving bread out of a van, and we just hoped to find three or four families that we could bring some hope to.”

Since 2004, that is exactly what Debbie, her husband Ron, and their children have been doing through Lighthouse Care. Starting from humble beginnings but eager to create a positive impact in the community, the Hill family began dedicating their time to delivering bread to those in need. This gradually expanded to include drinks and produce. As the demand increased, they moved the operations to a home living room and garage in Eagleby, creating a welcoming space for people to join Debbie and her family for a coffee. When the lease on the home ran out, Lighthouse Care needed a new space. Word got out about the wonderful work the Hill family was doing for families in need,

“We received a phone call from a local newspaper, and they did a front-page story of the work we were doing. And we got a call from PCYC saying you must keep going we’ll give you a small car garage and a cold room. And we started there, helping 30 families a week and within three years we were helping 300 a week.” – Debbie

In 2023, Lighthouse Care supported, “75,000 families a year. We’ve also got our outlet in Hillcrest as well,” Debbie explained. Lighthouse Care’s incredible ability to support so many families is because of the hard work the Hill family and their team have put into the store and operations.

A big draw to many who know of Lighthouse Care is their $25 trolley, currently, they sell around 800 per week. The $25 trolley is full of groceries and essentials. Lighthouse Care also offers the ‘The Free Trolley Initiative’. This is a trolley that is available for struggling families who are in desperate need of assistance or are in emergencies.

Since 2004, Debbie, her family, and the Lighthouse Care team have continued to see the demand rise as the cost-of-living increases. Those who typically have never required assistance are now reaching out for help, as Debbie said,

“There was a lady parked out here one day in a lovely BMW car. She had white leather seats in the back and beautiful jewellery and makeup and she looked amazing. But she walked out of the car, and I just felt compelled to say, “I’d love to give you one of our trolleys today”. She burst into tears and just cried and cried and she said, “You’ll never know what that means to me”. So, whether it’s that person walking in here, whether someone who may be homeless. Everybody’s treated with dignity. That’s our core value.” 

The above story is an example of Lighthouse Care’s ability and mission of, ‘Making lives better so that together we can make the world better’. Lighthouse Care’s transformation from a small family operation to the incredible locations and operations today is a testament to the need for their services. With Foodbank Queensland’s assistance, Lighthouse Care has been able to create a place of hope, support, and encouragement so people’s lives can be transformed.

“To everybody that donates to Foodbank, I just want to give huge thanks, because you are making a far bigger impact in our community than what you realise. For me, I’m the one that gets the thanks. I’m the one that sees the tears. I’m the one that gets to give the hope that you don’t get to see. I just want to say that you’re changing lives every day and if you have the capacity. You should donate to Foodbank.”

If you are in a position to help Foodbank Queensland provide more food across the state to support Queenslanders in need, please consider joining the fight against hunger as a regular giver.