August 2022,

At Foodbank, we couldn’t do what we do without the incredible Australian primary producers and the vital role they play in producing the food that sustains us all, and the special role they play in helping and enabling Foodbank’s Agri programs. Throughout the year, Foodbank works paddock to plate with partners in all sorts of ways to rescue food and collaborate with partners to ensure we have access to much-needed essentials like fresh meat, fruit, vegetables, dairy and rice.

We were thrilled when our National Partner, SunRice, asked if we would like to attend and speak at the 2022 Rice Growers Conference to discuss food insecurity issues in regional Australia and what we are doing to help get food to those in need. . We wanted to help break the stigma and shame associated with asking for help and also thank Riverina’s hardworking and generous rice growers and supply chain partners.

Every year with SunRice’s manufacturing support and Deniliquin Freighters transport support, a percentage of the annual Australian Rice crop is grown, harvested, and packaged into 1kg retail packs and donated to Foodbank. This collaboration between these wonderful parties enables Foodbank to distribute to those in need right across the country, including back into rural and remote communities. So a big thank you again to SunRice for your ongoing support of Foodbank and producing this great video to help celebrate our partnership

Simplot and Foodbank partnership helping Aussies in need for more than 25 years

July 2022

After a COVID delay in 2021, Simplot Australia and Foodbank celebrated their 25-year partnership at Simplot’s food manufacturing facility in Echuca.

With more than one in six adults in Australia being food insecure at any one point throughout the year, and 1.2 million children going hungry during the same period, it is an important partnership that aims to address food insecurity in our communities.

Our core business of agriculture and food manufacturing provides quality, sustainable and nourishing food to consumers but what we are doing with Foodbank speaks to what motivates us all as humans. It is about making a difference and supporting people in our community when they need it most.

says Sue Smith, Simplot Australia’s Executive Director of Human Resources and Transformation.

A major feature of the partnership has been Simplot’s involvement in Foodbank’s Collaborative Supply Program. With an increasing demand for food relief in Australia and a focus to reduce waste, Foodbank collaborates with manufacturers and their component suppliers to produce a sustainable source of key staple foods that don’t come in sufficient quantities via normal rescue channels.

CEO of Foodbank Australia, Brianna Casey, visited Simplot to meet and thank the team,

After two and half years of not being able to travel or meet face to face, this has been one event worth waiting for. It has been wonderful to meet the Simplot team who every year produce Leggo’s delicious Napoletana sauce as part of our world-leading Collaborative Supply Program. This program is vital as it ensures our Foodbank warehouses around the country are stocked with staples like pasta sauce and available for the many people doing it tough.

 

Since 2011, Simplot has donated more than 2.5 million units of product to the Collaborative Supply Program. This year alone over 300,000 jars of Leggo’s pasta sauce and Chicken Tonight will be provided to Foodbank, which is equivalent to about 1.2 million meals.

Simplot’s Leggo’s Napoletana sauce, which is produced at the Echuca site, now proudly displays the Foodbank logo highlighting to consumers that it is a company that is driven by its purpose of contributing to feeding the world and is steadfast in giving Aussies a helping hand.

Photographed left to right: Dane Smith, Simplot Australia Executive Director Supply Chain, Sue Smith, Simplot Australia Executive Director Human Resources and Transformation, Councillor Paul Jarman Campaspe Shire, Brianna Casey, CEO Foodbank Australia, The Honourable Peter Walsh, Member for Murray Plains and David Maddison, Echuca Plant Manager.