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Expiry and Distribution – a quick explainer
Foodbank Victoria receives a wide variety of food and grocery products from our donors. Many of our products come to us because they are close to the end of their shelf life, and we work hard to ensure that those products are supplied to our agency partners as quickly as possible.
Under Australian (and NZ) Food Safety Standards, there are two main types of expiry dates – ‘Best Before’ and ‘Use By’. Most food products you will see at Foodbank Victoria and on your supermarket shelves use one of these formats.
Use By Date (UBD)
This is a mark of product safety. You should not supply or consume foods after their Use By Date, and it is illegal to sell a product after its Use By has passed without an official shelf life extension from the product manufacturer. In some cases, shelf life can be extended by freezing a product before its Use By Date. Once thawed, it should be used immediately.
Best Before Date (BBD)
This is the most common format. Most packaged foods have a Best Before Date, which indicates the product’s quality up to that date. These products can be legally sold and safely consumed after their Best Before Date, although the quality will often begin to decline.
We have worked with over 2,000 food donors to develop the guidelines below. These are suggestions and not legal advice, but it is very similar to Foodbank Victoria’s own distribution guide.
Products with a Use By Date
| Product Type | Suggestions for Charity Partner Issue Guide |
|---|---|
| Prepacked fresh meat, fish, and ready to eat meals | Up to UBD, or in some cases may be hard frozen prior to UBD, and re-labelled accordingly. |
| Other products with Use By expiry format | Up to UBD. |
Products with a Best Before Date
| Product Type | Suggestion for Charity Partner Issue Guide |
|---|---|
| Fresh / Chilled Products | |
| Fresh bread | BBD + up to 3 days |
| Eggs | BBD + 2 weeks |
| Butter and butter blends | BBD + 4 months |
| Margarine | BBD + 4 months |
| Thickened cream | BBD + 2 weeks |
| Sour cream, crème fraiche etc | BBD + 4 weeks |
| Yoghurts and dips | BBD + 2 weeks |
| Dairy desserts | BBD + 2 weeks |
| Shredded cheese | BBD + 4 weeks |
| Soft cheese (e.g. brie, camembert, blue) | BBD + 4 weeks |
| Fresh cheese (e.g. feta, ricotta, cottage cheese) | BBD + 4 weeks |
| Hard cheese (e.g. cheddar, edam) | BBD + 2 months |
| Frozen Products | |
| Frozen protein – uncooked | BBD + 3 months |
| Frozen protein – cooked | BBD + 6 months |
| All other frozen products | BBD + 6 months |
| Shelf Stable / Ambient Products | |
| Baby food | Up to BBD |
| Dairy UHT Milk | BBD + 8 weeks |
| Non-dairy UHT milk (e.g. soy, almond) | BBD + 6 weeks |
| Pasta and rice | BBD + 1 year |
| Dry cooking/baking ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, herbs, powdered soup/meal base etc) | BBD + 1 year |
| Cooking oils and preserved foods | BBD + 1 year |
| Coffee and tea | BBD + 1 year |
| Water (non-carbonated) | BBD + 1 year |
| All other shelf stable products | BBD + 6 months |
| Non-food Products | |
| Personal and household cleaning products | Expiry + 1 year |
| Pet care products (tinned /wet) | BBD + 1 year |
| Pet care products (dry) | BBD + 6 months |
| Pet care products (chilled) | Up to expiry |
Need more information?
Please visit the Food Standards Australia & NZ website or get in touch with us directly.
Foodbank FAQs
If you require food relief, please visit the Find Food page which will help to connect you with local food relief services, or contact the Foodbank in your state or territory .
We need your help now. No child should have to go to school hungry, no parent should have to skip meals to feed their family and no Australian should have to suffer the stress and health impacts of not having the means to put food on the table.
Click here to see what you can do to help us end hunger in Australia.
You can also contact your local MP/Senator to ask what they are doing to help Foodbank, and whether they support the development of a long-term, whole of government Food Security Strategy.
More than half of all food insecure households in Australia (59%) are at the severe end of the food insecurity spectrum. This is 2 million households (2.3 million in 2023) where people suffer disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake such as skipping meals or going entire days without eating, sometimes to protect other members of their household.
Read the Foodbank Hunger Report 2024 for more information
Food insecurity is “a situation that exists when people lack secure access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life” (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations). This is different to hunger, which is a sensation many of us experience often, but are able to address by simply opening a cupboard or a fridge. Food insecure people do not have this luxury and cannot regularly and routinely put a meal on the table for themselves or their family.
The face of hunger is diverse – those affected are young people, men and women, children and the elderly. They are single and in families, students, employed, unemployed and retired. Also at risk are people with disabilities, refugees and those of Aboriginal and Islander descent. The suffering is often hidden, but the reality is we’re all likely to know someone going without.
Many of us face the daily pressures of rising amenity costs, including rent, mortgage repayments and power bills. For some people, this pressure can result in tough choices such as, ‘Do I pay that bill or buy food?’.
The most common reason for households experiencing food insecurity in the last 12 months was increased or high cost of living. In these situations, people are forced to choose between food and other everyday necessities.
Check out Foodbank Hunger Report
To get through times of food insecurity, people often go without. When individuals are faced with food insecurity, meal-skipping is commonplace.
For parents, meal-skipping can mean the difference between their children having something to eat or going hungry.
Lack of food can significantly impact quality of life. Not having enough to eat can severely impact everyday functioning and wellbeing. Food insecure Australians most commonly report lethargy or tiredness, a decline in mental health and a loss of confidence because of lack of food.
Hello, we’re Foodbank. We believe everyone should have access to good food no matter their situation. We’re here for the everyday Australians who are going without. It’s our mission to create long lasting change in Australia by ending hunger.
In Australia, we provide food and grocery relief to 2,929 front-line charities and 3,220 school breakfast programs to help feed people in need. Last year alone, we sourced enough food for 92 million meals.
We are the only Australian food relief organisation to be an accredited member of the Global FoodBanking Network (GFN).
Foodbank works right across the Australian food and grocery supply chain from farmers, wholesalers, and manufacturers through to the retailers to source food and groceries.
Last year Foodbank sourced 48.1 million kilograms of food and groceries.
To ensure warehouses always have key staples in stock, Foodbank collaborates with manufacturers, suppliers and transporters to proactively supplement essential items that do not come in sufficient quantities via traditional food rescue channels.
Foodbank is the only charity in Australia that collaborates with suppliers, manufacturers, and transporters in an innovative program to ensure consistent supplies of essential food items are available in its warehouses every day. The Collaborative Supply Program sees food manufacturers produce sought-after products using spare production capacity. Suppliers donate or subsidise the ingredients, packaging and delivery of the products to spread the commitment and enhance the sustainability of the program. Through this program, we are able to provide consistent supplies of breakfast cereals, fresh and long life milk, pasta and pasta sauce, canned fruit, baked beans and sausages. With every dollar invested in the program delivering $5 worth of food – clearly a sound investment.
Primary Produce Programs
Despite rural and regional Australians being more likely to be food insecure than their metro counterparts, farming communities work closely with Foodbank to donate grain, rice, milk, meat, eggs and fresh produce. Foodbank sources these essential products through relationships right along the supply chain, partnering with farmers, produce market associations, and peak bodies from paddock to plate. This farm fresh produce is collected by Foodbank and made available directly to our charity network to be provided to food recipients, used in Foodbank production kitchens, or used as manufacturing ingredients for the Collaborative Supply Program. For example, donated meat trim can be used in our protein program and become sausages.
Foodbanks across the country assist 3,220 schools around Australia through the direct and indirect delivery of School Breakfast Programs. Given the geographic spread and range of socio-economic circumstances, Foodbank prides itself in its ability to be flexibly and dynamic in terms of delivery and distribution models, to ensure the best possible outcomes for children at these schools. Some Foodbanks also deliver nutrition education programs for adults and children alike to encourage improved nutrition literacy in the community.
‘Use By’ is the critical date mark as it signifies when a food must be consumed by for health and safety reasons. It is used on highly perishable foods, such as ready-made meals and items that are classified as high risk upon expiration. Foodbank does not distribute food at risk of exceeding its ‘Use By’ prior to being consumed. ‘Best Before’ is used to indicate quality rather than safety. It identifies the date after which food exceeds its peak quality.
‘Best Before’ dates are found on food such as fruits and vegetables, dried pasta, rice, tinned and canned foods. It is perfectly safe to eat food past its ‘Best Before’ date but some of its quality, flavour or texture may have been lost. Some of the food that Foodbank distributes is past its ‘Best Before’, however, we have worked with our manufacturing partners to ensure we meet their internal guidelines and that product is still safe to consume and the quality will not be unduly effected. The items must also comply with all our other requirements ensuring they are safe to consume (i.e. no damage to the packaging and have been stored under appropriate conditions etc).
Foodbank plays a key role in times of community emergencies and natural disasters. Every State/Territory Foodbank is involved in disaster relief, providing essential supplies to support the work of emergency services and first responders as well as ongoing assistance to affected communities during the months and years it takes to recover.
Food relief is a crucial part of Australia’s social safety net, especially for anyone facing financial hardship. As of August 2024, nearly two million Australian households – about 1 in 5 – are experiencing severe food insecurity. It’s a surprising reality, especially considering Australia produces enough food to feed three times our population.
That’s where Foodbank steps in. As Australia’s largest food relief organisation, Foodbank provides more than half of all the groceries distributed to people doing it tough across the country. To better understand the impact of this work, Foodbank carried out a Social Return on Investment (SROI) study, looking at two key food relief models, Everyday Food Relief (EFR) and School Breakfast Programs, over the 2025 financial year.
The findings, shared in the report “Foodbank – it’s about more than the food”, show just how powerful food relief can be. For every dollar invested, there’s a return of $5.83 in social, economic, and environmental value, and every kilo of food distributed creates $43 in value.
Foodbank’s food and grocery rescue operations play a key role in addressing Australia’s $36.6 billion food waste problem, redirecting and/or repurposing approximately 37 million kilograms of food and groceries that may otherwise end up in landfill. In 2022, we saved 86.6 million kilograms of CO2 emissions. Foodbank worked closely with the Federal Department of the Environment and Energy, our sector peers and our supply chain colleagues in the development of Australia’s first ever National Food Waste Strategy. The Australian Government has committed to halving food waste by 2030 (consistent with Target 12.3 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals).
Foodbank is an active participant in Stop Food Waste Australia and the Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre which are both committed to the goal of halving food waste by 2030.
Foodbank’s activities across Australia play a key role in delivering on at least five of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which are aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all. Foodbank’s operations are strongly aligned to the following five goals, SDG 2 Zero Hunger, SDG 1 No Poverty, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, SDG12 Responsible Consumption & Production, SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals.
All levels of government have a role to play in addressing the root causes of food insecurity and working with organisations like Foodbank to ensure food relief is available while these causes are being addressed.
Federal Government funding for the food relief sector is not confirmed beyond next financial year. Ahead of the Federal election, Foodbank, is seeking three key commitments from all the parties and independents to ensure vulnerable people have consistent and reliable access to food:
- Sustained and adequate funding for food relief
- The establishment of dedicated disaster preparedness and emergency food relief programs
- The introduction of a national food waste tax incentive, making it easier for the food sector to redirect its surplus for food relief
Foodbank works with the entire Australian food and grocery industry from farmers, wholesalers, and manufacturers to retailers to source food and groceries. In addition to food rescue, food and grocery companies and retailers make food/grocery donations to Foodbank as part of their commitment to corporate social responsibility. Many companies choose to make regular donations by increasing their production run or drawing straight from inventory in order to ensure that their product is consistently available to charities. They may also make special one-off donations at the time of natural disasters.
In addition, in an innovative and world-leading foodbanking program, Foodbank also collaborates with suppliers, manufacturers and transporters to proactively manufacture key staple foods to ensure that these are available year round. You can watch a 4-minute video about this impressive program here.
Helping Victorians since 1930
Our work in Victoria dates all the way back to 1930, with the establishment of the State Relief Committee in response to the distress caused by the Great Depression. Today, our work continues – supporting Victorians with food relief in times of distress caused by financial hardship and through disasters such as bushfires, floods and drought.
In 2025, we are marking our 95th anniversary. It’s a bittersweet moment – evidence that the scale of the hunger problem and need for food relief persists to this day.
Take a look at our work across the decades
The State Relief Committee began as an initiative of the State Government of the day.
A group of eminent persons were called together by the Hon. EL Kiernan, MLC at Parliament house on 31st July 1930. They were asked to organise a state-wide appeal for goods and to coordinate the distribution to people in need during the Great Depression. Mr Harold Clapp, Chairman of the Victorian Railways Commissioners, was nominated as the Chair.
The community assisted in raising cash donations through such activities as concert parties, a VFL football variety show at the Melbourne Town Hall, moonlight excursions on the Bay and community singing. In the winter months of 1934 a Blanket Appeal was commenced in partnership with the Herald and Weekly Times. The 1937 blanket appeal raised 1200 pounds to purchase 4028 blankets.
A “Jam factory” was established and 20 unemployed women were hired to make jam from donated fruit. The 1939 annual report showed that 560,583 jars had been processed up to that time.
Following the end of the Great Depression, the State Relief Committee sought resolution as to its future.
Legislation was introduced into Parliament in 1940 which firmly authorised the continuance of the Committee’s work.
Organisers employed by the Committee visited country areas where donations of “5 shillings and promises of 19 sheep and 14 bags of wheat” were willingly arranged. Social auxiliary groups were established in country towns, the first at Macarthur in appreciation of the Committee’s assistance during bushfires in the area. The groups held balls and social functions to raise money.
Goods collected were distributed at local level through Public Assistance Committees, set up by local government, Ladies’ Benevolent Societies and other organisations registered with the Charities Boards of Victoria. Every effort was made to avoid overlapping by duplicating relief. Money was not given to applicants, the assistance was always in goods and/or food.
Individual efforts by community members were recorded in the minutes of meetings.
In 1953, First Constable G Hookey of Castlemaine was commended for his regular efforts to gather groups “to scour the orchards and despatch hundreds of cases of apples to the Committee.”
Through a Christmas effort commenced by the Herald and Weekly Times in 1954, vouchers were distributed to lonely pensioners while the Truth Toy Fund raised money to distribute toys to children. Boxes were placed at certain railway stations so that people could donate parcels of suitable clothing or household goods.
Disaster relief for victims of flood and fires was a continuing aspect of the work done by the Committee. Each Annual Report gave details of the help provided across Victoria.
The Chair, Mr Albert Monk, sought assistance from the Minister of the Labour and Industry Department in 1958 about the “meagreness of the sum provided by Treasury.” This was raised from £15,000 to £22,000 by the end of the decade.
Following severe bushfires in 1962, the Government directed that a State Disaster Plan should be developed.
The centre of operations was located at Police Headquarters in Russell Street, Melbourne within the precincts of D24 Radio Station. The Welfare Division was coordinated by the Committee together with other groups such as the Red Cross, Salvation Army and the Country Women’s Association.
A competition to “Give a Title” to a specially built home in Carrington Park Estate at Scoresby was organised for the Committee in 1960/61 and 151,449 tickets were sold.
Appeals for furniture and household goods were made regularly in country regions as well as the continued appeals in suburban areas.
In 1969 the stocks held were moved from the King Street location to new premises in Montague Street, South Melbourne. Concern about the quality of stock held over long periods led to the establishment of a sub-committee to direct and advise the reduction of holdings.
Trained social workers began being appointed into the community to provide more professional welfare assistance to those in need.
While the Committee first expressed concern over the changing focus towards counselling and referral, rather than emergency relief as the first step, by the end of the decade there were fewer applications through local police and more and more through social workers. There were also more providers of emergency relief being established in the community.
Dame Phyllis Frost, who had joined the Committee in the mid 1960s was appointed Chair in 1975. She organised a seminar in 1976 and invited the Premier, Hon. RJ Hamer, to give the opening address. It was attended by 200 people, many coming from the auxiliary groups in country areas.
The Committee continued to offer furniture as part of material aid resources and retired tradesmen assisted in repairing goods donated and collected by warehouse staff.
The annual reports of the Committee noted the increasing demand for assistance from such groups as deserted wives, migrants, Aboriginal people, aged and unemployed. In 1978 the organisation moved to premises in Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne.
During the severe Ash Wednesday bushfires in 1983 the Committee gained extensive support and recognition for the way in which assistance was sourced and distributed.
The Committee was able to solicit and receipt monetary donations as well as goods. Dame Phyllis Frost was the figurehead of the relief effort and gave tirelessly of her time and energy. Following the experiences of these bushfires, the State Disaster Plan was reviewed.
In 1986, the Act was changed and the name changed from State Relief Committee to the Victorian Relief Committee with increased powers. Many complimentary remarks were made in parliament about the work achieved by the organisation.
Up until this time the Committee had regularly received money from the Poor Box Funds but these were withdrawn in 1986 and became the Court Fund. At the same time the Committee noted that there were fewer donations from local government offices and sought to raise this matter with individual Councils and Shires.
The Committee faced a 38% reduction in funding in 1993 as the new State Government placed severe financial constraints across all government departments.
The decision was made to reduce the hours when the warehouse was open for a period. The Premier, Hon. Jeff Kennett, acknowledged the efforts made by the Committee in his foreword to the Annual Report.
Support of the Blanket and Christmas Toy Appeals continued through the fund raising efforts of the Committee. In 1995, Channel 9 provided publicity and promotion when Dame Phyllis Frost reported that the Committee was in danger of not being able to meet commitments for assistance. $250,000 worth of goods and donations were received.
Many businesses became long term suppliers. These included Uncle Tobys and the SPC-sponsored annual Share-a-Can days commencing in 1997.
After four decades of involvement, Dame Phyllis Frost retired as Chair in 2000. She remained Patron until her death, aged 87, in 2004.
Following government reviews of the work of the Victorian Relief Committee, new Chair Shirley Martin PSM, and CEO Hilary Bolton were appointed in 2001. The Committee chose to consult with representatives of government, business and the emergency relief sector to better determine the future.
With renewed vigour the committee then sought to develop partnerships and in 2003 the Salvation Army and Victorian Relief launched a joint Foodbank operation. A partnership was also established with Reverse Logistics and Coles Supermarkets Victoria to reclaim food products for distribution.
The demand for emergency relief saw a marked increase in the number of agencies working with Victorian Relief.
In 2006 the Victorian Relief Committee and Foodbank merged to become VicRelief Foodbank.
Following the tragedy of the Black Saturday bushfires in February 2009, VicRelief Foodbank played an integral role delivering food and material aid into affected communities. In the wake of the fires, the KickStart program commenced in affected areas to provide breakfast into schools. This eventually led to the establishment of the current statewide School Breakfast Clubs program, which is supporting students in 500 of the most disadvantaged state primary schools.
The 2010s has been a time of growth for Foodbank. Unfortunately, hunger continues to be a hidden but widespread issue across Australia.
In 2011, VicRelief Foodbank formally changed its name to Foodbank Victoria and continues to operate as such, part of the wider Foodbank federation operating nationally.
In 2013, there was a change in leadership with Dave McNamara appointed CEO after five years as Operations Manager.
A new visual identity for Foodbank nationally was introduced in 2014. This marked the start of a national approach to branding and an opportunity to increase awareness of Foodbank and advocacy around the the issue of hunger in Australia.
In 2015, Foodbank Victoria succeeded in securing State Government funding to implement the largest School Breakfast Clubs program in Australia.
After nine years as Chair, Alan Williams retired in 2015, with Board Director Dorothy Coombe taking over the role.
Now approaching the 90th anniversary as Victoria’s largest provider of emergency relief, Dave and Dorothy continue in their roles.
We open our warehouse for contactless drive-throughs for both food delivery and then collection during bushfires and COVID lockdowns during 2020-22. We launch the Community Bus Program and a pop-up supermarket for international students.
In 2022 Stephen Audsley becomes Chair. We respond to regional floods and begin building our Community Food Centres. The final Hunger Ride takes place.
We open our Ballarat and Morwell Community Food Centres in 2023. The Community Supermarket pilot begins. Food Fight, our school fundraising program, launches.
In 2024 the School Breakfast Clubs Program expands to all Victorian State Schools, reaching 50 million meals served. We receive Federal funding for community cooking classes in Morwell and launch the Morwell Community Supermarket. Fruit Loop fundraiser begins.
Healthy food for all. Right across Victoria.
This year marked Foodbank Victoria’s 95th year providing food to Victorians who need us most. Back in 1930, the State Government established the State Relief Committee, providing for the many Victorians who were hit hard by the Great Depression. Since then, we’ve supported individuals and families through it all – from everyday emergencies, bushfires, pandemics, floods, and ongoing cost-of-living pressures, we’re here to help Victorians get the food and essentials they need.
By working with organisations across the food and grocery sector – from farmers right through to retailers – we’ve been able to distribute over 25 million meals in the last 12 months, and are currently feeding 69,000 Victorians every single day.
We believe that all Victorians should have regular access to healthy and culturally appropriate food. Our food purchasing program is rapidly expanding to help us feed the growing number of people who need our support.
All Victorians should have access to healthy food but in the last 12 months...
More than 1 in 3
Victorian households couldn't afford the food they needed
Over half a million
Victorian households skipped meals or went days without eating
Over 80% of Victorian
households saw their food run out without having money to buy more.
Every $1 donated creates 2 meals for someone in need
PULL UP A SEAT, THERE ARE PEOPLE TO MEET
Bill's story
“If it wasn't for Foodbank, I wouldn't be here.”
Read some storiesGive a Foodbank Gift Voucher this Christmas
GIFT A HAP-PEA CHRISTMAS
We’re so pea-sed that you want to help feed families in need this Christmas by making a donation on behalf of your friend or loved one.
We know some people can be impossible to buy for but we’ve got your back, whether your sister in law is an environmentalist wanting to avoid presents going to landfill or your brother is socially minded, or maybe you got the new staff member for Kris Kringle and you don’t know what to get them. Not only will people be impressed by your compassion, they’ll also be able to feel super smug knowing that they helped put food on the table at Christmas, for someone doing it tough.
To organise your gift voucher, pea-se contact our Supporter Care team on phoning 1800 943 005 or email SupporterCare@foodbankvictoria.org.au
