We all know that one workmate who gets ‘hangry’ when it’s nearing lunch time, but for the 2 million Australians who will seek out food relief this year – half of whom are children – an empty stomach is a way of life.
A great number of our members donate food, funds or some of their precious time to Foodbank, a non-denominational, not-for-profit organisation that acts like a stocked pantry to charities and community groups who feed those who need it, all over Australia.
Foodbank has been growing each year since kicking off in 1992, and now has a presence in every state and the NT, with distribution centres in all capitals, and some regional centres.
How does it work?
Foodbank rescues edible but surplus food and groceries from the country’s farmers, manufacturers and retailers. This includes product that is out of specification, close to date code, has incorrect labelling or damaged packaging as well as excess stock and deleted lines. Without Foodbank much of this food would simply go to landfill.
Foodbank collect the food or food companies deliver to their donations to warehouses around Australia – last year alone they provided 33 million kilograms of food and groceries.
Currently, the food rescued by Foodbank provides on average 166,000 meals a day.
Over 2,500 charities and 1,500 schools collect the donated food and distribute it to adults and children in need as prepared meals, food hampers and emergency parcels.
How can you get involved?
There is still a significant gap between the amount of staple foods rescued and what is needed by the charities to provide filling and nutritious meals.
So, in a collaborative supply program Foodbank partner with food producers and manufacturers who donate ingredients and services in order to produce, process, package and transport essential items such as breakfast cereals, pasta and sauce and tinned fruit and vegetables.
Financial contributions from the public and corporate sector provide essential funds to cover the elements that cannot be obtained through food donations.
If you’d like to get on board with Foodbank’s valuable work, please phone (02) 9887 4144, or email admin@foodbank.org.au.