Bridging the gap between Breakfast Club and remote learning at Sebastapol Primary School

Located on the outskirts of Ballarat South, Sebastapol Primary School has been running Breakfast Clubs since the Program’s launch in 2016 and welcomed the addition of lunch and school holiday supply packs in Term 3, 2019.

Before COVID-19 restrictions were in place, the school welcomed local community members to help facilitate Breakfast Club on-campus.

Michelle Wilson, School Principal, says “before COVID-19 we were running Breakfast Club every morning at 8.30am with around 20 students attending each day. Our volunteers varied from day to day with people from the business, community, church, and government sectors. Our students loved the social aspect of Breakfast Club and valued the relationships with our volunteers.”

“Breakfast Club is also a part of our student leadership program. Dedicated students work closely with community volunteers in a range of tasks including unpacking, display, distribution, and the running of Breakfast Club. Some volunteers have remained mentors for students.”

Michelle says Breakfast Club also encourages positive relationships between students.

“The program promotes social cohesion among students as they share breakfast and conversations before class. It provides children with a caring human connection and helps us ensure they have adequate nutrition for learning throughout the day,” she says.

Around 95 per cent of the school’s students are now learning remotely, with around five students continuing to learn on-campus. While Breakfast Club has been postponed until on-site learning returns, Michelle says maintaining connection with the community is vital.

“Rather than running a Breakfast Club on-campus, we have been using Breakfast Club products and School Holiday Supplies to create food hampers for students and their families. We have been delivering food boxes to parents without a car or driver’s license, as well as holding a drive through collection service where families are invited to come along and collect a hamper to take home with them,” she says.

“The food packs have been able to assist families doing it tough. Many families have faced unemployment, uncertainty with casual roles or are still working full time while supporting their children through remote learning. Since remote learning came into place, we have been able to provide all of our 55 school families with food packs. For those students on-campus, we still host our Fruit Break program where they are invited to come along and enjoy fresh apples and oranges.”

Michelle says the food boxes offer a variety of products including fresh fruit, long life milk, cereal and other essentials required for a balanced diet. She says the School Holiday Supply packs have been a helpful addition to the Breakfast Club products on offer.

“Food insecurity is a real issue in our community, and we are so pleased to have an extensive range of food items available to us. We plan to continue ordering the school holiday packs and checking in on families who have requested additional support and are experiencing food insecurity during COVID-19. Some of our parents have been too anxious to go to the supermarket in fear of falling ill,” Michelle says.

“We look forward to welcoming the students back to campus. We hope to host a big family breakfast as part of our extended wellbeing initiatives when things get back to normal.”

Feed Me Bellarine

Feed Me – Bellarine, Geelong & Surf Coast are one of 533 charity partners we assist across the state of Victoria. Utilising food and groceries provided by Foodbank Victoria, the hard-working and compassionate team offer a friendly space for struggling folks in the Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast region to not only collect quality food and healthy take-away meals, but also to connect with the community.

Celebrating 8 Years of Farms to Families

We’re thrilled to be celebrating the eighth year of our Farms to Families Market! Since the program’s launch, the market has enabled us to provide almost 300,000 kilograms of healthy  fresh produce to more than 15,000 families in regional Victoria.

Fighting Food Waste with Repurpose It

We are excited to announce our partnership with Repurpose It, an organisation who champions sustainability and believes “all waste can be converted into valuable resources”.

There is some food that even we can’t use, and as part of a new strategic project, Repurpose It will take our packaged perishable food and turn it into soil and renewable energy.

We are totally committed to feeding those in need and reducing food waste, and with the help of Repurpose It, we are one step closer. Repurpose It have also generously committed to providing one million meals for those doing it tough.

Meet Brian and Julie

It was like a hailstorm of embers, you couldn’t even see. And when the embers finished falling, everything was on fire.

Meet Brian and Julie, a Sarsfield couple who were impacted by the recent bushfire season.

As the fires peaked on the hills above their property, Brian made the difficult choice to stay and fight for his home. As the embers gathered speed and invaded his property, Brian battled the blaze all through the night, making heartbreaking choices about what to save and what to let burn. He lost his treasured garden, a tractor, his front staircase and there was severe damage to an exterior retainer wall – but he feels lucky that his home still stands.

“There’s no longer many trees around the place. All you can see is all the houses that have gone. It’s a bit confronting,” said Brian.

For a small town of 652 residents, more than 130 Sarsfield residents have been displaced by the recent fires. The fires impacted more than 70 percent of homes – 66 were lost.

To help make things a little easier, Brian and Julie have been accessing emergency food and water relief through ADRA Bairnsdale, one of Foodbank Victoria’s charity partners, as they join their neighbours on the long journey to recovery.

“The food relief really helps to take a load off your mind. We are still in the process of rebuilding the front of our home and it takes time.”
“The fight isn’t over, it’s going to take at least a year for the community of Sarsfield to recover,” Brian continued.

Meet Helen

We never thought we’d be in this position. It was just a tragic accident that’s changed everything.

Melbourne couple Terry and Helen have always been hard workers. After raising two sons – now in their 30s – the pair have owned several businesses, acquired a strong work ethic, and have always been known for their kindness and generosity.

Several years ago, they put an offer on a home in Melbourne’s north, an older home which they would work towards renovating.

During the settlement period of their newly purchased home, Terry became ill with the flu. On the way to a doctor’s appointment, Terry felt weak and feverish and collapsed, falling headfirst onto the concrete. Luckily, Terry survived, but not without tragic repercussions.

Sadly, as a result, Terry now suffers from an acquired brain injury and requires full time care. Helen is unable to work as she cares for her husband around the clock, stating she has not had a good night’s sleep since the unfortunate accident.

Helen and Terry went from 2 full-time incomes to none, while also gaining a brand-new mortgage. The financial stress is overwhelming as their pensions barely cover the mortgage repayments.

“We never thought we’d be in this position. It was just a tragic accident that’s changed everything,” said Helen.

Helen has only been accessing food relief at Reservoir Neighbourhood House, a Foodbank Victoria charity partner, for about a year now and she still struggles with accepting help.

Helen’s story is just one of many we hear. A sudden illness or life-changing circumstance can put anybody in a position where they are unable to pay their bills and desperately require food relief.

Thank you for helping feed Kylie’s family

“When you’re fighting between paying rent or buying food, you don’t know what to do.”

When we last wrote to you, Kylie and her young children, like thousands of Victorian families, had reached breaking point. Almost overnight, families who were already struggling now faced a frightening scenario – the prospect of not putting a meal on the table for her family.

Since the tragedy of the bushfires and COVID-19, the number of Victorian families experiencing food insecurity has doubled. More than half of these families skip meals at least once a week.

Thanks to your generous support of our recent appeal, Foodbank Victoria has stepped in to relieve their distress and fears. Without you, far too many families just like Kylie and her kids would have had to go without food.

For Kylie, not being able to feed her own children was heartbreaking. “You have to send your kids to school with food. You can’t send them with nothing.

“I was blown away by the generosity from people we have never met. We’ve received good, healthy food with everyone’s help.

“Now I don’t have to sit and cry about not having any money or food. We can now eat – and that’s the most important thing to me, for my kids.”

A thank you from our Food Team

It’s with the support of our food and grocery donors that we’re able to continue helping to feed Victorians in need. As we wrap up the financial year, we want to say – thank you!

Daylesford Good Grub Club

The quaint community of Daylesford has seen a huge increase in the number of people unable to afford or access food. To help make things a little easier for those going through tough times, the wonderful team at Good Grub Club have been delivering food hampers, and providing fresh cooked meals to struggling community members in the Hepburn Shire.