A tasty partnership putting food on the table for people in need

Chobani is a longtime friend of Foodbank, having donated more than 1 million meals to Aussies in need. Now we’ve become besties thanks to a brand-new yogurt made just for us, with 100% of the profits being donated to Foodbank.

‘Fruit for Good’ is a fruit salad flavoured yogurt with a delicious blend of fresh pineapple, strawberry, watermelon, and apple. Dig deep and swirl the real fruit through the Greek yogurt and enjoy the little rumba on your tongue!

We’ve worked together with Chobani to create this yogurt every step of the way, from initial ideas through to team tastings, and are in awe of the generosity shown by Chobani’s entire supply chain. From ingredients through to packaging and retail, partners have donated goods and services to ensure that 100% of profits can find their way to us.

To try it for yourself head to the fridges at Woolworths, Coles, or leading independent retailers and pick up a pot of Fruit for Good – just think of how many people will benefit from one delicious tub of yogurt…

174 k’s of Victoria’s most beautiful and difficult cycling terrain.

With the pandemic kicking our annual Hunger Ride to the curb in 2021, being able to stage the event this year amongst the alpine y beauty of Bright is a total bucket list moment.

Our seven corporate teams of four will sweat it out through the high country to the summit of Mount Buffalo and back, riding 174 k’s with the aim of raising $100,000 – that’s 200,000 meals on the table for Victorians in need.

Teams have been training and fundraising up a storm, supported by family, friends and colleagues who understand what’s really involved in getting food to vulnerable families, and why we need to keep striving, collectively, to do more.

Riders will be shoulder to shoulder with Australia’s very own voice of cycling Matt Keenan, Tour de France Green jersey winner Baden Cooke and in late breaking news, the legend himself, Cadel Evans (our ONLY Tour de France winner) will be joining the peloton on the day. If they’ve followed the training guide developed by Hunger Ride expert and current pro rider Brenton Jones (he just came second in the world’s second oldest bike race so his training cred seriously checks out) the pace will be onski.

Like to support a team or rider?

Meet Elisseo, our Friendliest Staff Member!

“I started as a casual forklift driver and then soon after a position came up as Warehouse Manager, and here I am”.

Was Foodbank what you expected?

Foodbank definitely exceeded my expectations. I came into this role as a casual and didn’t think it would be a long-term thing. But then I saw what we do here, how we affect people’s lives, and it became so much more than just a job. I really enjoy what we do here – the drive-thru’s, seeing people come in and drop off food donations – it gives you that warm, fuzzy feeling.

What does it feel like when you tell people you work at Foodbank?

It gives me a great sense of pride. The minute I mention Foodbank everyone says “Oh Foodbank! I’ve heard about them, they do really good work”. I’m very proud of the work we do here.

What is it like working side by side with volunteers?

It’s great – it’s still hard for me to get my head around the fact that there are people out there that are so selfless that they will come in here week after week and not only do their role, but do it well. They take real pride in what they’re doing.

What is something people might not know about Foodbank?

Although people know who we get our food to, I don’t think people realise that we are an actual warehouse. There’s a whole element of logistics that goes on behind the scenes with a lot of moving parts: we have trucks, vans, pop-up markets, lots of different programs. But we have an incredible team who get all these intricate moving pieces into place – from a logistics perspective alone, it’s amazing.

Is there anything you would like to say to our wonderful supporters?

Trust in us, and we will make that magic happen and get meals on tables to the people who need it. It makes me emotional to think of everything that has been donated so far, without the support of our donors none of this would be possible.

A lifechanger.

In November last year, Alex was looking at the festive season ahead and simply didn’t know how she would afford enough food for her four kids, Amelyia, Izabella, Archie and Peyton, much less presents under the tree.

Thanks to your generous donations not only did Alex have a full pantry, the money she saved on buying groceries provided the opportunity for the kids to get some lovely presents.

Alex now also has a full-time job! Not only does this provide financial security for Alex’s family, but so many other benefits as well. A sense of self-worth, and something important to do every day.

Thank you for supporting Alex and families just like hers through the festive season. Your special gift provided so much more than just food on Christmas Day – it gave hope, dignity, and reaffirmed self-worth.

Big Bus, big deal.

Foodbank Victoria is thrilled to be introducing two whopping 18 metre ‘articulated buses’ (bendy buses) to it’s collection of vehicles.  With the assistance and support of SkyBus and Kinetic, we have turned these buses normally used for airport transfers, into the coolest mobile supermarkets on the planet. (We think we may have a world first!).

With entry at the back and exit at the front, the 18-metre bendy ­buses offer a miniature supermarket experience with shelving and refrigeration stocked with a range of fresh produce, pantry and staple items.  Each bus will support approximately 100 families at every location with around 15 kilograms of food per family.

Foodbank Victoria CEO Dave McNamara says the mobile supermarket program will allow many struggling Victorians to access healthy and nutritious food.

“This is a concept that allows us to visit people who often don’t have the capacity to travel or who aren’t receiving food relief in the traditional ways. It also allows us to provide a truly bespoke food relief service to the emerging culturally and linguistically diverse communities around metro Melbourne”.

Keep an eye out and give us a wave if you see the big purple buses (sounds like a Wiggles reference. Funnily enough, the first bus is named Dorothy!) heading in your direction.

To see Dorothy in action, click on the arrow

Hamish Blake & Chrissie Swan join the Foodbank Family!

We’re high fiving ourselves silly to have these two on board as ambassadors.

Known for his national radio show with Andy Lee and more recently winning the hearts of Lego fans everywhere as host of Channel Nine’s Lego Masters, Hamish took part in our annual cycling event ‘The Hunger Ride’ in 2020, and was immediately keen to do more.

“I’m super proud to represent the work of Foodbank because they make an immediate difference to people in need in an area that couldn’t be simpler: food. Whether it’s families hit by bushfires, COVID-19 or refugees, Foodbank is there to, at the least, help them eat”.

We are thrilled to have him. Not only was he the The Hunger Ride’s biggest fundraiser in 2020 (amazing), but his enthusiasm is tops.

As one part of the Chrissy, Sam and Browny radio show on Nova, Chrissie first noticed our work in early 2020. “I watched with awe at how Foodbank Victoria heaped love and assistance on people doing it tough during the pandemic and the bushfires and thought: Gee, I wonder if they’d have me?”. Um, yes we would. We were so excited we even had one of our team create Chrissie her very own high vis vest. (shh, don’t tell Hamish).

Chrissie and Hamish will continue to help us spread the word through 2022. We might even put them to work on our hamper line. Let’s see if they can pack more hampers than Lizzo or Gordon Ramsey!

You might call us crazy but we have a HUGE goal this Christmas…Together with Gandel Foundation we can create ONE MILLION MEALS for Victorians in need.

Until midnight Tuesday, Gandel Foundation are doubling your donation dollar-for-dollar. Your kind gift today will create DOUBLE the meals and have DOUBLE the impact.

Victorians have been hit harder than ever in the past year. So we want to make sure families in need not only have good food on Christmas Day, but well into the New Year too.

Let’s do this Victoria!

Alex knows first hand what it’s like to go without.

Alex is a mother of four beautiful children who are as amazing as their mum: 11-year-old Amelyia, eight-year-old Izabella, six-year-old Archie and five-year-old Peyton.

The courage with which Alex is fighting to keep all four of her kids safe from abuse, poverty and the pandemic will leave you inspired. You see, although Alex and her children are holding on right now, they are not yet out of the woods. In fact, Alex is worried that the festive period may be their hardest yet.

What Alex has endured is unimaginable. Alex shared with us that the downward spiral that led to empty cupboards began when the father of her children turned to violence.

She did escape, even though she knew doing so would leave her with the challenge of bringing in an income and still parenting four young children on her own. Somehow Alex managed to keep her family afloat, which is no small achievement when you consider her work involves providing in-home aged care and disability care – an exhausting job and one filled with anxiety throughout this pandemic.

It was a difficult time, I’m sorry to tell you that things were a bout to get worse. As Alex explains:

“I began a relationship with a man who seemed so gentle and kind, but to my horror, I found out he was abusing my daughters. I had to get the kids away from him fast, and waiting in hope that I might receive social housing was simply not an option. So I rented a house privately in another town, and moved my family far away from him.

It was a terrifying time, but we managed it – and thank goodness we did, as it was only a few weeks later that the pandemic took hold and we had our first lockdown. The thought of being stuck inside a house with that man…it’s too awful to contemplate.”

Alex was fortunate indeed to escape when she did. It was her quick thinking and courage that spared her own kids such a fate, but doing so came at a desperately high cost:

“Trying to find the money for a private rental during COVID has been a nightmare. With four little kids, it’s often just not possible to make ends meet.

It’s still hard for me to speak about the moment I realised there simply wasn’t enough food in the pantry, or money in my account to get us through the week. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more ashamed than I did in that moment. I took a deep breath and told myself, Okay. I need to sort this out.’ I swallowed my pride and with Peyton, my youngest by my side, we went down to the Community Centre. I tried to make it seem like and adventure.

Having her with me reminded me why I was there: for my kids. She helped me put my feelings of inadequacy to one side. I can’t tell you how relieved I felt when I saw the food that was laid out before us – food that I later learned came directly from Foodbank Victoria. I went home that day, hand in hand with Peyton, feeling a thousand times lighter.”

Alex’s story is one of many. It is thanks to the generosity of Victorians like you that we can continue to ensure food is on the table of those most vulnerable.