Foodbank hits bittersweet milestone of 600 million meals for hungry Australians

28 February 2019 – The year was 1992: Paul Keating was Australia’s Prime Minister, Boys II Men’s End of the Road was playing incessantly on the radio, summer Olympics were being celebrated in Barcelona, and Foodbank first started sourcing food for distribution to charities with one purpose – to feed hungry Australians.

Fast forward to February 2019 and Foodbank has just surpassed 600 million meals for vulnerable Australians.

To put this into context, in 1992 Foodbank provided almost 200,000 meals for the entire year. Now in 2019, Foodbank provides the same number in a single day, providing food relief to more than 710,000 people a month who are in crisis, dealing with the anguish and despair of not knowing where the next meal is coming from for themselves and their families.

Foodbank Australia CEO, Brianna Casey, today visited Parramatta Mission, one of the 2,600 charity agencies Foodbank provides relief to, helping serve lunch to just some in the local community affected by food insecurity.

“We are so fortunate to have a national network of charities like Parramatta Mission, to help us get essential food and groceries to some of the most vulnerable in our communities.

“This is a milestone we never wanted to hit. Whilst I am incredibly proud of the efforts of the entire Foodbank family, our charity network, our food and grocery donors and our partners right across the country in helping us provide the equivalent of 600 million meals, this is a bittersweet moment. It is evidence of the scale of the hunger problem we have here in Australia, and the growing need for food relief.

Foodbank works with the entire food and grocery supply chain, rescuing ‘perfectly imperfect’ fresh fruit and vegetables; sourcing – and even manufacturing – the everyday essentials every family should have available in their pantries year round; and helping fill the tummies of children who would otherwise go to school hungry.

“With 4 million Australians suffering from food poverty at some point in the last 12 months, and charities reporting increased demand for food relief across a range of demographics, something has to give. We need urgent action on what has become a systemic problem in Australia, and in the lead-up to the election, all sides of politics can expect to hear more from Foodbank on this issue.” Said Ms Casey.

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.

You’ve just made something wonderful happen

Thank you for your care and compassion

Because of your kind gift, a Queenslander going hungry can now put food on the table. Your generosity means more than a meal – it brings relief, dignity and the strength to keep moving forward.

Your gift will help parents put dinner on the table, children start the school day with a full stomach and ready to learn, and expand food relief to regional and remote communities. We’ll keep you updated with the impact of your gift so you can see the difference your generosity is making across our community.

Thank you again for showing you care, and standing with us to ensure no Queenslander goes hungry.

Your receipt will arrive in your nominated email address shortly.

If you have any questions, please contact fundraising@foodbankqld.org.au

More Ways You Can Support Foodbank

Foodbank Queensland couldn’t exist without our generous community of donors, monthly givers, fundraisers and volunteers.

Find out other ways you can get involved below.

Volunteer With Us

The Foodbank Queensland team rely heavily on individuals who generously give their time to help us get food to the people who need it most. By joining our team, you will make a direct and positive community impact.

Find out more

Fundraise for Us

Every $1 you raise creates 2 nourishing meals for someone doing it tough. Fundraise with us and help fill plates, fuel futures, and bring stability to families across Queensland.

Find out more

Partner With Us

Foodbank Queensland relies on an amazing network of local and state partners to fight hunger. There are many ways your organisation can support the work we do. We’d love to hear from you, so get in touch with our team today!

Find out more

Our day out at IKEA North Lakes!

It was a busy day for the Foodbank team as we partnered up with Matt Preston and IKEA North Lakes for a cooking demonstration involving the famous IKEA meatballs! We invited customers to come and chat with us, find out more about what we do and enter a raffle for a chance to win some IKEA goodies!

We also had the opportunity to speak during the cooking demonstration about everyday things we can do to cut food waste. Simple things such as meal planning, making a shopping list, not being tempted by the 2-for-1 offers and freezing leftovers.

You might be wondering what happened to the fresh produce displayed during the cooking demonstration. Well, just under 50kgs of cauliflower, melons, herbs and a variety of other fruit and vegetables were all donated to Foodbank and snapped up by our charity partners.

Thank You function at Government House

The beautiful gardens and heritage listed residence of Government House provided the perfect setting to personally thank our donors and supporters. Guests had the opportunity to mingle on the Government House lawns before being welcomed into Government House.

Guests heard from the His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland, who highlighted the crucial work that Foodbank does within the community, across the state and across Australia.

His Excellency paid tribute to our donors and supporters, acknowledging their contributions to Foodbank Queensland.

We would like to thank His Excellency and Mrs de Jersey for their ongoing support and for welcoming Foodbank Queensland and guests into Government House. We would also like to thank all of our donors and supporters, who help us every day as we strive to end hunger in Queensland.

Queensland Cricket Pathways players volunteer at Foodbank Queensland.

It was a busy morning for the young Queensland cricketers who joined us for a morning of volunteering. From unwrapping milk and unpacking fresh produce to labelling cans, the players did it all.

Of course, the competitive nature of the cricketers came to the fore during the labelling of donated cans of spaghetti from SPC. They were determined to set a new record for the number of cans labelled in an hour.

And what a record! 836 cans of spaghetti, packed and labelled in an hour. Well done team!

North Queensland flood support

The front line services do an amazing job getting people back on their feet immediately after natural disasters. What we do at Foodbank is provide immediate and ongoing support to families in need.

With the support of our donors, some of the items we have been able to send to North Queensland include:

Two pallets of water thanks to Schweppes Asahi
16 pallets of assorted cleaning products and materials thank to TrendPac
Five pallets of eggs thanks to Australian Pasteurized Eggs
Toilet paper
Weetbix and Vitabrits from Sanitarium and Uncle Toby’s
Jam
UHT Milk
Tinned Fruit and vegetables
Baked beans and tinned spaghetti
Bottle water
Pasta and noodles
Ready to eat frozen meals thanks to Foodbank’s collaboration with FareShare

We’re incredibly grateful to our logistics partners Linfox (free rail freight), and AHG (free road freight and storage), without whom we would not be able to transport much needed food relief.

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.

Glen Park Community Centre

The community is certainly at the heart of Glen Park Community Centre. Since opening the doors to its Community Pantry in 2018, the pantry provides food relief to families and community members of the Bayswater community.

The Community Pantry offers a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, frozen meals, non-perishable food and personal hygiene items for those in need. A home-cooked meal (from the attached Café on the Park social enterprise) and hearty conversation are also served up to pantry attendees.

Glen Park Community Centre CEO Heidi Butler-Moore believes the key is to provide a space which connects the Community Pantry members to the wider community.

“There would be many people that may find food resources somewhere else but I don’t think they would have the connectedness they have now through the pantry. It’s the ripple effect of that, which I think is really benefiting our community,” she said.

With qualified chef Naomi Butler-Moore at the helm, Glen Park Community Centre also hosts community meals several times a year. With many of the Community Pantry members attending these events, Heidi believes “the social inclusion part of the meals is the greatest outcome.”

Chef Naomi is proudly involved in all food activities at the Centre; from ordering and collecting food for the Community Pantry, to designing menus and preparing and cooking meals at the Café on the Park. For Naomi, working at Glen Park Community Centre can be emotional.

“It does bring me to tears a lot. It has opened my eyes to how much we waste as a society and how much people go without. When I’m out at the back of the ute sorting through the fruit and veggies and someone grabs you by the arm, and they have tears in their eyes thanking you, you just take a step back and think – wow. To me, I am just doing what I am doing, and you don’t realise the impact until something like that happens,” said Naomi.

As for the future of the Community Pantry, Heidi and her team are positive about increasing the number of families they assist. Regardless of what challenges they might face, Heidi passionately states – “we’ll make it work!”

Find out more about the Community Pantry and Café on the Park at Glen Park Community Centre, at cafeonthepark.org.au

Bulls Cricketer Chris Lynn donates $6,400 on behalf of Queensland Cricket.

Chris Lynn from the QLD Bulls presented Foodbank with a signed bat and a donation of $6,400!

The donation comes from the on-going charity partnership between Foodbank QLD and Queensland Cricket with Queensland Cricket donating $100 to Foodbank for every six that left the stadium during the JLT One-Day Cup and Women’s National Cricket League.

Chris Lynn gains an honourable mention, claiming 27 of the 64 sixes hit during the campaign. Smashing effort from all involved both on the field and in the campaign to raise awareness for food relief in Australia.