Partnership provides 85 million meals to Australians in need

20th October 2020

Australian family-owned agribusinesses, Manildra Group and MSM Milling, have marked a unique partnership with food producers Simplot and Rinoldi, and leading Food relief organization, Foodbank Australia, resulting in 85 million meals donated to Aussies in need.

The Australian businesses have donated flour since 2004 as well as oil and sugar since 2009 to manufacturers Rinoldi and Simplot, as part of Foodbank’s vital collaborative food supply programs.

Manildra Group and MSM Milling source wheat and canola from local farmers, handle the milling and consolidation locally and help people across Australia, including in the Central West of NSW, with finished products distributed via the Foodbank network of front-line charities.

Manildra Group’s flour is donated to Rinoldi which produces pasta specifically for Foodbank to distribute across Australia. MSM Milling’s auzure canola oil and Sunshine Sugar are donated to Simplot to produce Leggo’s Napoletana Pasta Sauce.

The Manager of Manildra Flour Mill, John Brunner, says each year Manildra’s flour donation delivers five million serves of pasta to Australians experiencing all types of hardships.

“Now, more than ever the Foodbank Pasta Program is invaluable to those Australians who need it most. Australians who were struggling to get enough food before COVID-19 are now going hungry more often, with 43 per cent going a day a week without eating. As an Australian-owned family business we’re proud to step up and donate 350 tonnes of locally milled flour and 12 tonnes of sugar to this vital program to help vulnerable Australians in need. Our partnership with Foodbank is now in its 16th year, and it’s heartwarming to be part of a program that provides millions of serves of pasta for food relief activities, as well as natural disasters,” said Mr Brunner.

MSM Milling’s expeller pressed, Non-GM canola oil is a vital ingredient in the 250-thousand jars of Leggo’s Napoletana pasta sauce made for the partnership each year, delivering almost a million serves of sauce to Australians. Director Bob Mac Smith says the company is honoured to play an essential part in a program that alleviates food insecurity in local communities.

“Every year for the last 12 years MSM Milling has proudly donated thousands of litres of canola oil to this valuable program to ensure such a versatile pantry staple is made available to those who most need it. We’re a family business and the team is proud and humbled to donate oil to the program and see the difference it makes to everyday Australians, including those in our own backyard,” he said.

“This year has really highlighted the vital importance of Australian businesses supporting local farmers, manufacturers, organisations and other Australian businesses. We’re standing in the canola today which will be expeller pressed in a few weeks at our presses a stone’s throw from here. It truly is a unique partnership that highlights what can be achieved when suppliers and food manufacturers come together to collectively benefit Australian communities, from farmers, local businesses and our most vulnerable. It’s extremely humbling to be involved in this,” said Mr Mac Smith.

Foodbank National Program Manager – Agriculture, Jacqui Payne added, “We are extremely grateful for Manildra Group and MSM Milling’s dedication to our cause and ongoing involvement in our vital programs. Our Collaborative Supply Programs are a world-leading and globally unique model for food relief, and we’re delighted to have proud Australian businesses like Manildra Group and MSM Milling playing such major roles. They understand the importance of Foodbank being able to make these pantry essentials available to families from all regions and all walks of life who are doing it tough right now. Put simply, if we did not receive this support, families and individuals across Australia would be going without.”