Thornbury Community Church

Welcoming refugee communities

Each year, Refugee Week allows us to share stories and celebrate the incredible support that many of our charity partners provide to migrant and refugee communities. Today, we shine a light on one of our many charity partners who continue to make an incredible impact on those families and individuals navigating their new lives in Australia…

Since 2005, Pastor Paul has been volunteering at the Thornbury Community Church, working to establish a food relief program to complement the range of inclusive and community-oriented programs they offer.

Working out of the community hall adjacent to the church, Paul works with a regular team of 10-15 volunteers to operate the food program on a Wednesday afternoon. Each week, volunteer Shanaz picks up the food from Foodbank in a recently acquired van. The food is then packed into hampers of fresh and staple foods, with close to 200 families being assisted monthly.

“We assist a big variety of people here – refugees, migrants, people with special needs, people on their own, the elderly, students and those experiencing homelessness”

In between working full-time, being a full-time minister and running programs at the church, Paul travels around Melbourne picking up donated furniture and delivering it to newly settled migrant families and households in need.

In addition, the community church also operates a series of activities to both empower people experiencing hardship and provide a sense of community and social inclusion. These programs include fortnightly men’s and women’s groups facilitated by professional counsellors, volunteer nights, community meals and free training and skills workshops.

For Paul, the driving force of the community centre is to provide a welcoming and comforting place where everyone feels safe – regardless of age, gender, religion and ethnicity.

“There is a lot of misery and pain in society. We try to alleviate as much as we can and work to create a genuine, welcoming environment where people feel themselves. They find a family and a sense of belonging here.”

Meet some of the folks you helped this winter

Deb is mum to a fourteen-year-old son with a rare disease and tragically lost her brother and dad within weeks of each other, followed by her nephew and sister the following month.

Her husband left his job to help support Deb during the toughest time of her life leaving the family with no income to cover the costs.

“I was so worried about how I was going to feed my diabetic husband the right food with so little money.”

Thanks to your support, Deb and her family now have regular access to fresh, healthy food through one of our long time charity partners – and life is less of a struggle.

Drive Thru feeds thousands in one day

On Sunday 3 July 2022, we ran two pop-up drive thru services at the Melbourne Wholesale Market in Epping and Chobani’s newly expanded site in Dandenong.

Our incredible partners and volunteers worked all day to get 2,000 hampers of fresh produce and 2,000 hampers with pantry staples into the car boots and back seats of Victorians in need.

“You are all amazing. This is the first time I’ve taken charity and I was in tears when your crew put the boxes in my boot.”

When cute came to Foodbank!

They’re here.

We’re big fans of Tradie, who make Australia’s favourite workwear. So when they offered to create a covetable range of cheeky, colourful fruit and veg themed undies exclusively for Foodbank to raise much needed funds to feed vulnerable Victorians – of course we said yes!

Boxers that deliver your daily intake of greens
Fruitylicious sports bra and brief sets
Adorable onesie in softest cotton for the new bub in your life

Exclusive to Best and Less stores with proceeds from every purchase coming directly to us.

Shout out to our teeny model Ollie, whose mum is part of our Foodbank team and kindly let us immerse him (briefly) in a crate of fresh mandarins which your generosity helped make possible.

On sale at bestandless.com.au.

Every $1 will help provide 2 meals

Our big, bold plan to nourish the whole of Victoria

With your help, we’ve never worked harder to put food on the tables of vulnerable people in regional Victoria, who are 33% MORE LIKELY than Melbournians to need our help.

Our new Community Food Centres at Morwell and Ballarat will provide the critical missing link between Foodbank’s supply of healthy food, the work of our local charity partners and those needing food relief in Gippsland and The Grampians.

Community kitchens, veggie gardens with native herbs, warehousing made from 100% SUSTAINABLE materials with capacity to store much needed fresh, chilled and frozen food – the spaces will provide a permanent and sustaining solution for the regions.

Encouraging healthier food choices through cooking programs, employment pathways through training and the preservation of local indigenous heritage.

See you soon, Ballarat and Morwell!

Hear that? It’s our cheer squad chanting your name

Every two days with your help, Foodbank Victoria is feeding the equivalent of an MCG crowd – that’s 100,000 PEOPLE who live in our cities, towns, and local neighbourhoods.

Since June, our charity partners have seen a doubling of demand with some assisting over 250 FAMILIES a day in need of food relief.

FIFTY PERCENT of the people seeking food from us now have never had to come to a charity for support before. Many tell us they actually used to donate to Foodbank.

Yes, the cost of living crisis is hitting hard but the support you give means the crowds of people stepping up to seek our help EVERY TWO DAYS will NEVER miss out.

Help turn a surprise chain into a supply chain

No two days are alike in the Foodbank warehouse.

We are deeply grateful for every dented tin, misshapen banana, and slightly crumpled cereal box we receive from our generous food donors. Dropped in by farmers and wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers, and of course amazing, everyday Victorians cleaning out their pantry or running a local food drive for us.

Without this kindness we couldn’t do what we do – but it’s simply not enough.

The potluck nature of food donations often has us scrambling to plug gaps in the quantity and quality of food coming into our warehouse. Impacting on how fast and far we can go with food relief.

But… we have a vision for fixing this if you can join us.

We want to turn our SURPRISE CHAIN into a SUPPLY CHAIN.

When you plan your giving as a regular monthly donor, you’re helping Foodbank plan our food purchasing, so we can turn regular, reliable donations into regular, reliable meals.

YOU can be an integral part of the supply chain bringing healthy, nutritious food to our community by signing up to give a regular donation from your bank account or credit card every month.

Become a
regular giver

THEIR SMILES SAY IT ALL

September 2022

We’re marking a MAGICAL MILESTONE in Foodbank Vic’s School Breakfast Club Program – 20 million meals provided to students at schools across the state. We’re really proud and excited to see so many kids thriving.

All thanks to the work being done by our School Breakfast Club team in collaboration with the Victorian government and dedicated teaching staff whose efforts to help support kids and their families is nothing short of heroic.

What began as a little idea in a handful of schools has grown to encompass more than 1,000 LOCATIONS – that’s two thirds of all Victorian state schools.

With breakfast offered daily, Home Food packs and Cooking Classes for culturally diverse families the ripple effects are being felt in the wider community and we love being at the helm of such a powerful program.

Check out the new website schoolbreakfastclubs.org.au

More smiles – some on the inside

A School Breakfast Club that goes above and beyond

Moe, situated in the Latrobe Valley, is 135kms east of Melbourne. The town’s focus was always industrial, but in the late 1980’s a combination of economic recession and restructuring of local industry resulted in sustained high unemployment and low incomes which continue today.

One primary school is harnessing the power of food to support the diverse communities impacted by Moe’s longstanding social disadvantage.

Moe South Street Primary School’s has around 318 students. The school’s aim is to develop creative, curious, and independent learners, who are also resilient and strong problem solvers when faced with challenges. Students are strongly encouraged to respect and care about themselves, each other, and the world in which they live.

The School Breakfast Clubs Program has become an integral part of achieving these objectives.

Eating, sharing and learning important life skills

For Moe South Street Primary School, the School Breakfast Clubs Program provides so much more than breakfast. One of the early adopters, the school now runs Breakfast Club five days a week, with approximately 25 to 30 students attending each morning.

Brooke Chatterton is the school’s Wellbeing Officer and coordinates the School Breakfast Clubs Program. “There are a lot of housing commission houses around us” she explains, “and many single parents. We had kids coming to school in their pajamas who hadn’t had breakfast yet, so we were feeding them in the classrooms.

The feedback from the community was that there was a real need for something like this.”

Breakfast Club provides an inclusive opportunity for kids to sit at a table, have a meal together and use table manners – things that don’t necessarily happen at home. They are also encouraged to help clean up after the morning’s meal, gaining life skills like wiping tables, washing dishes, and pouring juice and milk.

Making breakfast go so much further

In addition to the Breakfast Clubs program, the school has established a community pantry in the main entrance to the school. All children and parents have access to this. It also provides an outlet for children struggling in the classroom to feel useful by helping restock the shelves of the pantry.

“I’ve observed the older kids that want to help at home,” says Brooke. “They know mum and dad are struggling so they stop off at the pantry to get what they can for the family. They feel like they are contributing in some way and it’s just beautiful.”

The Wellbeing team also packs hampers with school breakfast products to drop off at people’s doorsteps when there’s a need, as Brooke explains:

Parents can call the school and let us know they are currently struggling, or a child may mention there is no food at home. The team can quickly action food to be available in these situations. At first there was a bit of a stigma and parents were a little embarrassed, but we made sure it felt like part of what the school offers to everyone, so people are now extremely grateful for the help.

Students also access Free Fruit Fridays which encourages healthy eating as many turn up with ‘packets’ of food in their lunchboxes. The fruit is a nutritious addition and there are some varieties that the students have never tried. Students are actively encouraged to be a part of this program as well, helping prepare the fruit and distributing it among their peers.

The school has also introduced a weekly ‘market day,’ allowing parents to ‘shop’ from a farmer’s market style set up in the school grounds when they come to collect their children.

School Breakfast builds relationships and trust

Brooke and the Wellbeing team at Moe South Street Primary School are a dedicated and empathetic cohort who have built trusted relationships with the students and their families.

While the School Breakfast Clubs Program offers an amazing service for students at the school, the by-product has been the opportunity to further assist families in the local area that are doing it really tough. The program has been a great resource for the school to continue to meet the growing demand for food relief in Moe right now.

Testimonials

Val Hemmings, School Chaplain
“There are at least five students every day that I need to check on to make sure they have had something to eat, as it’s a regular occurrence for there to be no food at home. The food provided by the School Breakfast Club Program is used across the day, for all meals and students.

It’s surprising, isn’t it, when you think of all the benefits? Sometimes you just do it, and you don’t think about it, but well my gosh, all the extra things the Breakfast Club is doing…the ripple effect.”

Brooke Chatterton, Wellbeing Officer
“They (students) rock up at Brekkie Club… For them to be able to sit down and have a piece of toast and some comfort…makes a big difference.”

Parent, with five children at the school
“Brekkie Club has been a lifesaver; I have to make five school lunches and we only have one wage. That one meal that the school provides every day, means that we can budget for other meals during the week.”

The Hunger Ride November 2022

Are you ready for it? The Hunger Ride is back again on Saturday 19 November and we are now recruiting corporate teams to take on the 185km cycling challenge.

The Hunger Ride is a one-of-a-kind event but is not for the faint of heart. You’ll ride like a pro alongside SBS expert Tour de France commentator Matt Keenan, while raising much-needed funds for Foodbank Victoria.

Matt may be on the ground at the Tour de France but he’s got The Hunger Ride on his mind and he had a few things to say about it.

Yes, Tour de France has Alpe d’Huez, but The Hunger Ride has Mount Buffalo, along with 184km of spectacular scenery in Victoria’s High Country.

If you or your organisation is looking for a challenge with a strong focus on giving back, The Hunger Ride November 2022 is the event for you!

There’s only room for ten teams, so get in fast – registrations close 31 July 2022.

To register or find out more, go to thehungeride.com.au

Interested?

Check out the highlights from The Hunger Ride in March 2022 below!

Drive thru feeds families

Thousands of families receive free food hampers at our drive thru service

With individuals and families struggling with the cost of living pressures, our team acted quickly to help put food on people’s tables as part of our commitment to be there for those doing it tough.

On Sunday 3 July 2022, we ran two drive thru services at the Melbourne Wholesale Market in Epping and Chobani’s newly-expanded site in Dandenong, where thousands of families queued in their cars to receive free food hampers.

Thanks to an amazing effort from our staff and volunteers, and Chobani and Melbourne Market staff, we were able to provide 2,000 hampers of fresh produce and 2,000 hampers with pantry staples to Victorians doing it tough this winter.

Check out some photos from the drive thru events below.