Furry friends not forgotten when times are tough 

Wednesday 30th November,2022: With the cost of living crisis affecting more and more people with every week that passes, households with pets have emerged as more likely to be experiencing food insecurity.  

The Foodbank Hunger Report 2022 highlighted that on any given day, more than half a million households are struggling to put food on the table. Of those, 67% have pets, meaning they are not only struggling to feed themselves, but also their pets. 

Today, Foodbank launched its inaugural Foodbank Pet Care Day to acknowledge and thank the generous donors in the pet care industry who ensure the food relief organisation can offer pet food and pet care products for food relief recipients’ furry friends so that no-one – including a treasured pet– goes without in households facing tough times.

Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey, is a dog owner herself and recognises that for many, pets are seen as loved and loyal family members. “We know how important pets are for those who are struggling with loneliness and social isolation, and the last thing we want is for people to have to give up their pets when they have lost so much else in their lives.”

“Foodbank is so grateful for the kindness and generosity being shown by wonderful petcare partners, Mars Petcare, Royal Canin and Nestle, who donate Pedigree and Purina – among other products – to ensure our four-legged friends aren’t forgotten when times are tough”

Ms Casey said.

Together, Foodbank’s national petcare partners have generously donated nearly 2 million kilograms of pet care products over the past five years.  

“From working dogs on farms to rescue cats in rental properties, Foodbank is pleased to be able to make pet food available nationwide” Ms Casey said. 

Foodbank’s inaugural Pet Care Day, celebrated on the 30th November, is aiming to raise awareness of food insecurity in homes with pets and to thank the generous support of the many national and state donors who help ensure these furry friends do not go without. 

We couldn’t do what we do without you.

Urgent food donation tax reform needed to help fight cost of living crisis and deliver sustainability outcomes

Wednesday 23^rd November 2022: Australia currently wastes more than 7.6 million tonnes of food each year costing the economy over $36.6 billion. Of this, 70 percent is perfectly edible and redirecting it to food relief would potentially deliver a social return of $2 billion at a time when the demand for food relief has never been higher.

Despite the clear environmental, social and economic benefits of donating food to food relief, Australia’s current tax framework does not motivate food producers to donate excess stock. In fact, in tax terms, donating is no different to recycling or sending to landfill even though it may cost the company more.

Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey said,

It is ludicrous that our tax system does not reward hard-working farmers and small business transporters who contribute invaluable products and services to food relief. We should be making it easier to donate rather than dump perfectly good produce that may not look quite right, and one of the ways we can do that it by making sensible changes to our tax system to incentivise food donation.

Foodbank is recommending that Australia’s tax settings be recalibrated to incentivise donations to food relief. Experience in other countries, including the USA, France, Canada and the Netherlands, shows that tax incentives are the most effective way to increase the redirection of food donations to food relief.

The tax incentive proposal, developed by KPMG Australia with the support of the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre and Australia’s food relief sector recommends a two-tiered tax incentive based on the ability to offset a percentage of costs related to food donations from taxable income. Its aim is to encourage food producers to donate surplus product to food relief rather than sending it to landfill.

KPMG has now completed a follow-up project where it consulted widely with the food industry to determine the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the proposed tax incentive. Interviews were conducted with 33 companies representing both national and local businesses along the whole food supply chain. The overwhelming message is that there is whole-of-sector support for the scheme. In fact, companies are highly passionate about the potential of the incentive to really shift the dial on redirecting surplus to food relief.

Australia has set itself an ambitious target of halving food waste by 2030, and with only 7 years to go, we need the Australian government to take bold and decisive action, including the introduction of a National Food Donation Tax Incentive

Ms Casey said.

In addition to contributing to sustainability goals, the proposed incentives would provide support to small to medium enterprises, particularly farmers and small businesses in transport and logistics, stimulating regional economies and mitigating some of the economic impacts of labour shortages, natural disasters and the cost-of-living crisis.

Fight Food Waste CRC Chief Executive Officer Dr Steve Lapidge says the research and subsequent proposal show the power of collaboration in addressing Australia’s food waste challenges.

“This research was led by one of Australia’s biggest financial organisations, KPMG, in conjunction with one of its biggest food relief organisations, Foodbank. To meet Australia’s goal of halving food waste by 2030, it’s partnerships like these, coordinated through the Fight Food Waste CRC, that will have the biggest impact not only on the amount of food we waste but just as importantly on the lives of millions of Australians who are food insecure,” said Dr Lapidge.

The Foodbank Hunger Report 2022 highlighted that over 2 million Australian households were severely food insecure in the last 12 months and on any given day 306,000 households are receiving assistance from food relief organisations. The cost-of-living was cited as the main factor for those experiencing food insecurity, placing added demand on food relief organisations such as Foodbank as the crisis escalates.

Organisations supporting this incentive represent leaders of Australia’s food and grocery supply, manufacturing, retail and transport sectors as well as agricultural, rural, social service, public health and food waste research peak bodies. Many of these organisations and their members currently donate to food relief organisations, which distribute food and grocery items to thousands of charity organisations and schools.

Hunger relief charity thanks Aussie farmers for invaluable support

(Image provided by Montague)

Friday 18^th November: 18.5 million kilograms. That is the amount of home grown, fresh Aussie produce that was generously donated to Foodbank from Australian farmers and growers last year.

Today, on National Agriculture Day, Foodbank is celebrating and thanking our country’s hardworking farmers and growers for their ongoing support to the food relief organisation to ensure those struggling have access to nutritious, fresh produce year-round.

With so many farming communities across the eastern states enduring relentless flooding and the loss of would-be bumper crops, the generosity shown by farmers and growers in supporting the most vulnerable in our community is even more significant.

In 2021, Foodbank sourced the equivalent of 86.7 million meals for essential food relief, 30 percent which was sourced directly from Australia’s world-renowned agricultural industry. More than 30 percent of Foodbank’s total food relief volume is distributed to rural, regional and remote areas, allowing the food relief charity to give back to the very communities who – in good times – are some of the most generous food donors to Foodbank.

Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey said,

We live in one of the richest nations in the world. We produce enough food to feed our population three times over. Yet, on any given day in Australia, more than half a million households are struggling to put food on the table.

“We cannot thank our incredible farming communities enough. They continue to support the work we do even while facing devastating natural disasters that don’t seem to ease up.”

Foodbanks in NSW and Victoria continue to pack and distribute emergency food relief hampers and pallets of fresh produce which have been making their way to flood-affected areas across Victoria and NSW for the last two months, on top of ongoing food relief to assist with recovery from previous disaster events.

“Our thoughts are with all the communities struggling at the moment, and in particular those close-knit, vibrant communities facing unfathomable devastation as a result of these latest floods. We want these communities to know that Foodbank will be right there with them as long as needed to help these towns get back on their feet.”