Foodbank Queensland founder Ian Brusasco AO AM passes aged 92.

It is with great sadness that Foodbank Queensland acknowledge the passing of Foodbank Queensland Founder, Ian Brusasco AO AM, on Thursday 13 May, aged 92. Brusasco established Foodbank Queensland with former Brisbane Lord Mayor, Clem Jones AO and solicitor, David Muir, in 1995 to address critical food relief needs effecting children, families, and individuals across the state.

Experiencing hardship in early life, Brusasco was known for calling Foodbank his greatest achievement and together with wife Patricia, provided the seed money for the Foodbank Queensland Foundation to encourage others to donate and to ensure the long-term viability of the organisation.

“I know what it is like to be poor and to go without. That’s why Foodbank gives me the greatest satisfaction, because I’ve made a real difference.” – Ian Brusasco AO AM

Since 1995, Foodbank Queensland has sourced and rescued over 155 million kilograms of food, providing more than 252 million nutritious meals to Queenslanders experiencing hunger. Brusasco was a Chairman and a Director before stepping down in 2016, he last visited Foodbank Queensland in October 2020 to celebrate the charity’s 25th birthday.

Spending many decades serving as chairman and director on a variety of boards, Brusasco will be remembered for distinguished service to the community of Queensland.

Foodbank Queensland held a minute’s silence at 10am Monday 17 May in Brusasco’s honour.

Photo Credit, Courier Mail.

“Food relief helped me piece my life back together again.” 

When Ben woke up one morning completely paralysed in the left arm and hand, his life changed forever. Ben was a thriving musician who had recently moved to Australia from Scotland to re-launch his career, when through no fault of his own, he was unable to work. Ben’s injury meant he wouldn’t be able to play his guitar for the next three long years. 

“In this time, I lost everything. When I could no longer play my guitar and do what I loved, my mental and physical health started to decline. I lost my income, my relationship spiralled downwards, and we ended up splitting up. I had nowhere to live and no money.” – Ben  

“I ended up living in the bushes in Southbank for a while before I got a place in a dormitory with 80 other homeless people.” – Ben  

Ben made a group of friends who introduced him to one of Foodbank Queensland’s Member Charities providing food relief in the local community. Ben soon regained movement in his arm and hand and was able to play his guitar again.  

“I did the only thing that I could do, I busked. People would say, ‘How come you’re busking? You sound fantastic. What is a musician like you doing on the street?’. People were so kind. They would bring me their husband’s clothes that he no longer wore, and stuff like that.” – Ben 

“Finding a local food relief charity was such a huge stress relief and also financial relief. Being able to depend on food from other sources helped me divert any funds I had towards essential items, like underwear, sock, and shoes, which otherwise I’d be spending on food. If you want to get back on your feet, you’ve got to be presentable, you’ve got to have deodorant and shoes. But if you’re spending all your money on food, then you can’t do those things.” – Ben 

Being able to access nutritious food regularly helped put Ben on the road to recovery. He soon found a job and was able to do what he loved. He was earning a regular income and could once again afford food and essentials. 

Ben was so grateful and inspired by the support of the local food relief charity, that he now dedicates most of his time volunteering there to help others, just like him, facing severe hardship. 

“I’m doing better now, but I don’t want to forget the people that put me back on my feet. That’s why I’m here, doing anything I can to support those in need.” – Ben 

Ben’s outstanding voluntary work was recently recognised in the Griffith Australia Day Awards, acknowledging his devotion to supporting the homeless and disadvantaged within the West End region.  

“Homeless people, needy people – they are real people, with real needs, and they need real solutions. Foodbank and their donors are part of that solution, and I’m eternally grateful for it, because it does make a difference.” – Ben 

Your generosity will help people like Ben receive the essential groceries they need to get back on their feet. Thank you for making a difference.

Bundaberg farmers help to provide 2.8 million meals to Queenslanders in need

Foodbank Queensland recently had the pleasure of visiting our wonderful food donors in Bundaberg.

In the Bundaberg region, Foodbank Queensland has 16 generous food donors who donate a large variety of fruit and vegetables, including sweet potatoes, tomatoes, capsicum, corn, beans, chilli and citrus fruits to help Queenslanders experiencing hunger.

In the last year, the Bundaberg community donated enough food to provide more than 2.8 million nutritious meals to Queenslanders going hungry. With many farmers across Queensland having been impacted by the events of last year, including drought, bushfires and COVID-19, this is an incredibly generous donation that has gone a long way to helping Queenslanders in crisis.

During our visit, we had the pleasure of meeting Robert Doyle and Patricia Fordin from Australia’s largest producer of sweet potatoes, Sweet Potatoes Australia.

The team at Sweet Potatoes Australia have been donating to Foodbank Queensland since 2016, and said by donating produce to Foodbank Queensland, they strive to be leaders in the farming industry, helping to protect the environment, improving farm presentation and giving back to the community.

“Thanks to Foodbank Queensland, we are able to redistribute food that may have otherwise gone to waste to help people in need,” said Robert Doyle, Sales Manager at Sweet Potatoes Australia.

On our trip to Bundaberg, we also met AustChilli, Abbotsleigh Farms, Pritchard Farms, Bundaberg Fruit and Vegetable Growers.

Our wonderful food donors help us ensure that our shelves are never empty, and our Member Charities can continue distributing food across Queensland to those who need it most. A big thank you to all of our food donors for your continued generosity.

If you’re in the food industry and are interested in becoming a food donor, please click here.

“When my baby and I had nothing, a Foodbank hamper was the ultimate relief.”

It should have been the happiest of times, but instead Nicole found herself couch surfing with her three-month-old daughter and relying on extended family for enough to eat.

When Nicole’s baby Bella, was just three months old, the terrified first-time mum, 24, had to quickly escape her home on Brisbane’s outskirts. The Wakka Wakka and Kamilaroi woman had been living with her mum and partner, when he became abusive. Nicole and baby Bella were given crisis accommodation for two nights, but then found themselves sleeping on the sofas of cousins and aunties. It was heartbreaking and terrifying to be homeless, made worse because Nicole could not afford food.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more depressed and anxious than I was then. I had no money, and I was eating my relatives’ food, so I felt really bad about that. I wasn’t able to contribute much financially. Whatever money I had went towards making sure Bella had all her necessities.” – Nicole

Respite came when Nicole found permanent accommodation, a two-bedroom unit in Ipswich where she could create a safe, secure life for Bella. But it was short lived, as she now had to start from scratch and scrape together money for furniture and all life’s essentials. In desperation, she rang the support worker who ran her mums and bubs group.

“I was on the phone crying to her saying ‘I’ve just moved into this place and I’ve got no food – I’ve got nothing.’” – Nicole

Thanks to supporters like you, Nicole didn’t have to go hungry. “My support worker said: ‘We’ve just been to Foodbank, and we’ve got all the food here. I’m going to give you a couple of bags’. I was able to fill my pantry that day – it was amazing really.” – Nicole

As Nicole began to rebuild her life, there were other times a Foodbank hamper meant she didn’t have to miss meals because of a big electricity bill or car registration. It brought such comfort to be given staples like rice, tinned food, soups, sausages and mince, and even baby formula for Bella.

“Ever since I became a mum, it isn’t about me anymore – I have to put Bella’s needs first and make sure she has what she needs. I don’t ever want my daughter to struggle with food the way I’ve struggled.”

Bella is now 18 months old, and Nicole’s life is much happier. She loves playing with her little girl and plans to return to university to finish her midwifery studies soon. With her friends from her mums and bubs group, she has learnt to prepare healthy meals for Bella. She no longer struggles to provide for her little girl.

“I’m so grateful that I don’t have to wonder what Bella and I are going to eat tonight or how we are going to cope next week without food. I’m just so happy Foodbank exists. Thank you to Foodbank for giving me the opportunity to put a meal on the table each night.” – Nicole

Estimates suggest that between 22% and 32% of Indigenous people are food insecure, with those people living in remote areas most likely to go hungry. Foodbank delivers hampers to remote communities and has strong partnerships with charities dedicated to supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities – and this is only possible thanks to you.

Every $1 you donate will provide two nutritious meals to someone facing hunger like Nicole. 

Foodbank Queensland and Sunny Queen Australia team up to put a smile on little faces this Easter

To help make Easter egg-stra special this year, Foodbank Queensland partnered with Sunny Queen Australia to distribute more than 600 dozen eggs and simple-to-create Easter activities to families in need.

Fifty food relief charities across South East Queensland received Sunny Queen’s Free Range smiley faced eggs and Easter activities via Foodbank’s Food Distribution Centre to help hundreds of struggling families enjoy the simple, sunny pleasures of eating, playing and creating together.

Foodbank Queensland CEO, Sara Harrup, said Sunny Queen Australia’s generous donation helped bring joy to families in need.

“For families struggling to put food on the table, Easter can be a challenging and isolating time,” she said.

“We are delighted to have partnered with Sunny Queen Australia to help make Easter brighter for Queensland families going without.”

The donation has helped families like Angela’s from Sunnybank who have faced hard times due to the pandemic.

“These eggs are going to help us put food on the table, even if it means toast and eggs for a meal,” she said.

“We are struggling so much with my partner out of work and still trying to find work after the COVID-19 period. Being able to pick up some food to get us through with five kids in the house has been a massive help. Even just scrambled eggs on toast. It’s a meal that our kids wouldn’t turn down.”

Foodbank’s Member Charities were grateful for the donation with Stewart King, Food Recovery Coordinator at Loaves and Fishes, speaking to the act of generosity.

“We are so grateful to Foodbank Queensland and Sunny Queen Australia for providing fresh eggs and Easter activities for our families doing it tough,” he said.

“Our families were so thankful when they received the eggs and Easter craft activities. These simple acts of kind-heartedness really make a difference for people facing hardship.”

General Manager of Marketing and Innovation at Sunny Queen, Isabelle Dench, spoke of Sunny Queen’s passion for supporting Aussies all year around – especially during festive seasons.

“Easter is a time for everyone to be together, enjoying a spread of good, delicious food and each other’s company. It’s also a great opportunity to spend time with our family and friends and have fun all together. Crafting cute little chickens or bunnies using our egg packs is just another way to enjoy precious moments with our little ones,” Isabelle said.

“At Sunny Queen, we are big believers that small acts of kindness can make a big difference. We hope our small gesture of donating our smiley-faced eggs and some cute and easy-to-make craft ideas can help make Queenslanders smile during Easter.”

“Through its charitable partnership with Foodbank, which spans many years of egg and egg product donations and most recently a refrigerated truck to support deliveries, Sunny Queen is proud to continue its vision of helping drive an end to hunger for all Aussies.”

Thank you, Sunny Queen Australia, for your very generous donation and for making a positive difference in local communities this Easter.

Heart of Love Foundation provides vital support to Queenslanders in crisis

Heart of Love Foundation is one of Foodbank Queensland’s Member Charities providing vital support to Queenslanders experiencing hunger. The foundation works closely with school breakfast programs, the homeless community, and families living at a local Brisbane caravan park, who often find themselves facing hardship after a job loss or health issue.

Sunil Naidu, Director of Heart of Love Foundation, said with the food provided by Foodbank, Heart of Love Foundation’s volunteers were able to prepare nutritious meals and food relief hampers and distribute them to more than 450 Queenslanders in need every week.

“We provide fresh meals daily to the needy in Brisbane city, who due to financial, health or family-related reasons cannot afford or source meals to feed themselves and their families. We also pack food hampers and deliver them to families in need across Queensland,” Sunil said.

“COVID-19 has increased the need for food, with many families facing poverty due to unemployment and increased health needs. Heart of Love Foundation, therefore, has increased service by frequently sourcing food from Foodbank to keep up with the increasing demands,” he said.

Last month, approximately 560 nutritious salad wraps were made and delivered in Brisbane city, 178 home cooked meals were provided in the Ipswich community, and 120 fresh meals were provided to residents of a caravan park in North Brisbane.

“The frequent food hampers and home-cooked meals we offer provide vital support to many, including a single dad from Brisbane who is wheelchair bound with four young children under 15 years. His wife passed away, so he is in dire need and his youngest son needs a hearing aid which he is saving for. The food hampers are welcomed by him every week.”

“We have a homeless man in Brisbane city who comes to help us distribute food and drinks every morning. He loves to help and it is great to see him smiling,” Sunil said.

Mr Naidu said he was very grateful for Foodbank’s ongoing support which helps them to alleviate hunger for many families in Queensland.

“We have been receiving food from Foodbank for the past two years and would not have been able to help families in need and the homeless without this support. There are times when we have bought food, with individuals supporting from their own pockets when immediate need has risen. But now with full support from Foodbank Queensland, we can supply food regularly to families in need,” Sunil said.

If you are a Queensland charity, Foodbank Queensland membership is a great way to support your food relief projects, offering your organisation a reliable source of food and groceries all year round.

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.

Stanthorpe community helps to provide 60,000 meals to people in need

Foodbank Queensland receives food donations from farmers, manufacturers and retailers all around Queensland. Recently, we had the pleasure of visiting our wonderful food donors in the small rural town of Stanthorpe. 

In Stanthorpe, Foodbank Queensland has eight generous food donors who provide a large variety of nutritious food, including apples, peaches, broccoli, capsicums and eggs to help Queenslanders experiencing hunger. 

Many farmers across Queensland have been impacted by the events of last year, including drought, bushfires and COVID-19.

During our visit, we met with Kirra Pines Farming Managing Director, Tim Carnell, who said coming off a once in a 40-year drought into a once in a 100-year pandemic has been very tough. 

“Not only have we been battling our driest summer in years, COVID-19 has posed new kinds of challenges, with staffing limitations and increased health and safety requirements.” 

“However, despite any challenges we face at Kirra Pines Farming, we are committed to supporting people in need by donating produce that would have gone to waste to Foodbank, to ensure it goes to a good cause,” Tim said. 

On our trip to Stanthorpe, we also met with long-time supporters Bent and Haynes, who have very kindly been donating capsicums and tomatoes to Foodbank for more than 10 years. Sadly, the recent drought meant they struggled to grow any produce in 2020 at all. 

Other food donors in Stanthorpe include P Savio & Co, Zappia Produce Group, Snowman Orchard, Moore eggs, Gillebri Cotton Co (Moonrocks) and Lindsay Transport Stanthorpe.

In 2020, the Stanthorpe community donated enough food to provide 60,000 nutritious meals to Queenslanders going hungry.

Our wonderful food donors help us ensure that our shelves are never empty, and our Member Charities can continue distributing food across Queensland to those who need it most. A big thank you to all of our food donors for your continued generosity.

If you’re in the food industry and are interested in becoming a food donor, please click here.

Foodbank Queensland increases food storage capacity by 28%!

We are excited to announce that Foodbank Queensland’s pallet racking has been upgraded for the first time in 20 years!  

Thanks to the generosity of John T Reid Charitable Trusts, Foodbank Queensland has replaced all existing pallet racking, allowing us to improve our layout, increase food storage capacity and be more efficient and effective. 

Sara Harrup, Foodbank Queensland CEO, said the project has enabled Foodbank Queensland to rescue, store and distribute 28% more food. 

“The support of John T Reid Charitable Trusts has helped us increase the capacity of Foodbank Queensland, welcoming more Member Charities and providing more essential food and groceries to those in need,” Ms Harrup said. 

As the largest hunger relief charity in Queensland, providing food for over 25 million meals each year, Foodbank Queensland is committed to growing and adapting to meet increased state-wide food relief demand.  

When Foodbank Queensland’s Morningside facility opened 20 years ago, one million kilograms of food was sourced and distributed annually. Twenty years later, in the same facility, we are now providing more than 14 million kilograms of essential food and groceries to support Queenslanders facing hardship. 

Foodbank Queensland’s impact has grown year on year as we work tirelessly towards our vision of a Queensland without hunger. Every day, up to 32 trucks full of donated food and groceries arrive at Foodbank Queensland to support Queenslanders in crisis. By creating more spaces for storage, we can now accept and distribute up to 292 additional pallets of food every day.

“There is never enough food. We are a big family and there are a lot of bills to pay.” 

Maria, her three brothers and two sisters recently moved to Australia with their mother. A close-knit family, they were all eager to start a new chapter and leave their difficult life as refugees behind. 

“Before we came to Australia, life was so hard for us. But then we got the chance to come here, and it was like a dream.” – Maria 

Maria’s mother is learning English so she can find work and the children are studying hard, hoping to do well and go on to get good jobs. However, they often find there isn’t enough money to buy food for everyone once the rent and bills are paid. 

That’s why your support is so important. With your generosity, we can help to deliver nutritious food to the homes of families like Maria’s. 

“There are a lot of bills and we don’t have jobs. We are still students. For bills as well as groceries, it’s a lot of money. But once we began getting food parcels, we started to have enough food for everyone. Now once every two weeks, we can have some meat and pantry items.” – Maria 

It’s thanks to the generosity of people like you that we can support communities like Maria’s, making sure our local Member Charities have food to share with families in need.  

“We love the food from Foodbank. We all eat it and it really helps my mum.” – Maria 

Sadly, 22% of Queenslanders experiencing hunger are children. 

With your help, we can help make sure families like Maria’s do not go hungry. Thank you for making a difference.  

Every $1 you donate will provide two nutritious meals to someone facing hunger like Maria.