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.

– Check out Collaborative Supply Program:

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.

This figure is calculated based on an independent study into Foodbank’s social return on investment (SROI). The study found that Foodbank’s food assistance not only addresses people’s immediate nutrition needs but also contributes to improvements in their health, emotional wellbeing, sense of self-worth, social relationships and ultimately overall standard of living. Combined with the environmental savings of food not going to waste, the benefit to the individual and the broader community that flows from every kilogram of food distributed by Foodbank is valued at $23. For children receiving food via school breakfast programs, that figure rises to $110. The SROI on Foodbank’s activities in 2020 was $1 billion.

The methodology for the SROI research included:

– Research is undertaken by Net Balance (now Ernst & Young) in 2014.

– 30 face-to-face interviews with food companies, charities and food recipients.

– 155 survey responses from 14 charities and schools around Australia.

– In determining the impact, only outcomes that could be underpinned by evidence and quantified were taken into consideration.

– Other factors taken into consideration were attribution, dead weight, displacement, benefit period and drop off i.e. the researchers were scrupulous in not overestimating Foodbank’s contribution.

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 Australian 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.