fighting the battle against hunger in...
TRANSCRIPT
PAGE 777,000 people in Western Australia are aff ected by food insecurity
PAGE 10School Breakfast Program provides 55,000 breakfasts a week to 17,000 children
PAGE 14More than 2.84 million meals delivered each year via extensive regional network
Fighting the battle against hunger in WAFoodbank’s new centre leads the way
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENTPublished May 1, 2015
THROWING OUR HELP BEHIND FOODBANK WAHelping people in need is a priority for Perth Airport. One way we do this is by
supporting Foodbank WA, the State’s largest food relief charity.
To help them meet the growing demand for food relief, Perth Airport has committed
more than $1 million to support their vital community work. Our team also has the
opportunity to volunteer at Foodbank’s warehouse by arranging food and fresh
produce, ready for welfare agencies to distribute all over
Western Australia. Perth Airport welcomes Foodbank WA
to their new home on the airport estate.
To learn more about Perth Airport’s community support,
visit perthairport.com.au.
Thank You Foodbank WA wishes to extend our sincere and heartfelt thanks to our partners
who made the new Centre for Hunger Relief at Perth Airport possible.
To every volunteer, business, community group and donor who has helped build Foodbank WA over the last 20 years, we say thank you.
And to all our welfare agency partners who work frontline with people in need, we salute you.
Together we are fi ghting hunger in Western Australia.
them how to gain better nutrition while also saving money on the family food bill.
A decade later and the charity has become one of the state’s largest providers of nutrition education programs in schools, with adult groups and at-risk youth.
“When we were designing the building we wanted to be able to expand our education programs to help more people build their knowledge around shopping, budgeting and cooking so they are better equipped to take care of themselves and their children,” Mr Hebble said.
“Our BHP Billiton Training Kitchen has six cooking stations so people can learn more about healthy eating and gain hands-on experience making everyday recipes. Coupled with training rooms and an edible garden, we are excited about how many more children and adults we will be able to reach.”
BHP Billiton Iron Ore President, Jimmy Wilson, said the Company was pleased to invest $3.5 million to Foodbank WA’s new warehouse facility.
“We are extremely proud to partner with an organisation that provides a crucial service to people in need in our community. Our commitment to this impressive new warehouse and our continuous support through various health and education programs enables Foodbank WA to provide food relief to many people across our state,” he said.
“We currently support around 51,000 people and families a month, an increase of around 20 per cent since 2013.”Foodbank WA CEO Greg Hebble
O n Friday May 1 Premier Colin Barnett will offi cially open the doors of Foodbank WA’s new Centre for Hunger
Relief, built to deliver more food to more people in need.
With 6500 square metres of space, the new building, located at Perth Airport, is four times the size of the charity’s former premises at Welshpool and is one of the largest Foodbank buildings to be constructed in Australia.
Supplying around 60 per cent of the food distributed through the welfare sector, the new facility off ers substantially more warehouse and cold storage capacity. It also features a commercial kitchen, where the charity plans to produce healthy frozen meals, a nutrition education centre, a productive garden and meeting and seminar rooms available for use by other community groups.
Costing $12.7 million, the new centre was made possible through philanthropic support and infrastructure investments by the State Government, Lotterywest, BHP Billiton and Perth Airport.
Foodbank WA CEO Greg Hebble said he was extremely grateful to the funding partners.
“Without the support of our key partners, we would still be struggling in an old building where
its operational life as a Foodbank was defi nitely over,” Mr Hebble said. “With the expanded capacity we will be able to rescue, receive, buy and store more food to meet the community’s needs today and long into the future.
“We currently support around 51,000 people and families a month, an increase of around 20 per cent since 2013. But we know there are still too many people going without.”
Last year Foodbank WA supplied more than four million meals and the charity anticipates it will need to supply more than 6.6 million meals by 2019.
“Our model is to act as a pantry to the welfare sector,” Mr Hebble said. “We currently distribute food to the community through a statewide network of more than 420 welfare agencies and around 430 schools.
“We have a close relationship with our agency partners and they are telling us they need more food. They estimate they are turning away as many as 9000 people a month and falling short with the people and families they are helping.”
While Foodbank’s primary goal is to rescue and distribute food, it also recognises that creating food security involves more than simply feeding people.
In 2005 Foodbank WA commenced delivery of a food education program for adults to show
03Fighting hunger in Australia
New era begins in the fi ght against hunger
Editor: Louise Allan | Writer: Kaitlin Shawcross | Subeditor: Kirsten Hyam | Design: Gemma Medforth Advertising: Terence Tay 9482 9706 | Cover photo: Robert Fyfe | Images and some content supplied by Foodbank WA
One of the charity’s founding supporters has been Lotterywest. In 1994 it provided a building and fi nancial support to start Foodbank WA and has provided grants totalling $10.3 million which have helped the charity develop its infrastructure and programs across the state.
Lotterywest CEO Paul Andrew said Lotterywest was very proud to have been part of this project. “It has been exciting to watch the growth of Foodbank WA and see the success of the programs delivered,” he said.
“Foodbank is a valuable organisation that we are lucky to have in our state. We look forward to seeing Foodbank WA grow and help even more people in need.”
Foodbank WA’s new Centre for Hunger Relief has been six years in the making and is part of the organisation’s 2030 Building the Future infrastructure plan. Under this plan, Foodbank has been building and replacing a number of its ageing sites to better provide for the needs of regional communities.
“Our plan for the next three to fi ve years is to make sure we provide access to safe, healthy food for more people in WA during times of need,” Mr Hebble said. “We are looking at opening smaller food hubs in outer metro suburbs and assessing the feasibility of opening in the Pilbara.”
People are invited to view Foodbank WA’s operations by attending a special Open House at 23 Abbott Road, Perth Airport on Friday May 1 from 1.30pm to 4.00pm. Details can be found at www.foodbankwa.org.au.
Foodbank WA’s new Centre for Hunger Relief is four times the size of the charity’s former premises.
A new training kitchen will host Foodbank’s education programs.
In March 2014 Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett (far left) helped turn the soil at what was to become Foodbank WA’s new Centre for Hunger Relief located at Perth Airport.
04 FOODBANK
The Lotteries Commission provided a premise in Belmont that had recently been vacated along with grant money to renovate it and purchase equipment.
E very year tens of millions of kilos of food are destined for landfi ll in Australia, while more than 500,000 people per month
across the country do not have enough to eat.
Food banking is a global movement that seeks to capture safe, edible food that would otherwise be wasted from farms, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and other sources and make it available to those in need.
In the early 1990s a collective of people from various welfare agencies in Perth formed a working group to try to fi nd a solution to link supermarket and other food waste with the growing numbers of people knocking on their doors seeking food relief.
Founding Board Member Ken Hamilton recalled there was already a small charity called Second Harvest operating at the time that collected and stored food donations.
“One of the guys from Second Harvest had been to the US and seen Foodbanks in operation,” he said.
“The model made sense because we had companies willing to donate food but the charities lacked the storage, trucks, fridges, freezers and expertise to manage the high volume of food that was available.
“An incredible amount of good food was being dumped because no-one could collect or store it.”
The recently retired CEO of Lotterywest Jan Stewart said at the time the then Lotteries Commission was seeing an increasing number of grant requests for money to purchase food.
“We all realised there had to be a better way than the piecemeal approach being taken at the time,” Ms Stewart said.
“The working party had some great ideas but needed the resources to develop them. Lotterywest provided a $15,000 grant to produce a business plan and the rest really is history.”
Prepared by John O’Donnell of Kadmos Group, the business plan revealed that in WA an estimated $20 million worth of edible food was being dumped every year, while welfare agencies were struggling to meet the demand from Perth’s growing poor.
“John’s business plan was superb,” Ms Stewart said. “It set out the blueprint and fi nancial model that has underpinned Foodbank’s operations to this day. “It gave us the confi dence to get behind the project.”
In October 1994 Foodbank WA opened its doors and within two months charitable agencies were withdrawing more than 2000 kilos of food per day.
An estimated $20 million worth of edible food was being dumped every year, while welfare agencies were struggling to feed people.
Fighting hunger with waste It’s the people who have made Foodbank what it is today. Doug Losik started as a truck driver in 1999 and became warehouse manager in 2003 for four years.
With the support of a number of philanthropic donors, the fi rst Foodbank WA Board of Directors was appointed in early 1994 and the fl edgling operation was underway.
A driving force behind the new Foodbank was founding CEO Doug Paling. Mr Paling, who has spent the majority of his life in the food industry, had the knowledge, passion and connections to bring the business plan to life.
In October 1994 Foodbank WA opened its doors and within two months charitable
With the opening of the new Centre for Hunger Relief at Perth Airport, Foodbank WA now has the capacity to secure more food and help more people.
Foodbank Branch Manager Hamish Dobie (left) and former CEO Doug Paling at the charity’s original headquarters in Belmont in 2002. Image: The West Australian.
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05Fighting hunger in Australia
“Everyone at Rocky Bay is extremely grateful for the ongoing support of Foodbank in providing meaningful employment, friendship and purpose to people living with disability, supporting them to lead independent and fulfi lling lives,” she said.
“The fact that some of these employees have stayed for more than 10 years highlights how mutually benefi cial the employment of people with disability can be. Foodbank is setting a fantastic example to other organisations.”
Inclusion a key priority for Foodbank
F oodbank WA’s operations do more than provide a meal for people in times of need. For a great number of
staff and volunteers who have experienced disadvantage, Foodbank has provided an opportunity for them to become active and valued members of their local community.
In 1999 Foodbank was approached by Rocky Bay Employment Services to consider off ering part-time employment to people living with both physical and intellectual disability.
With support from partners including Coles, fi ve people were provided with employment. Despite a seemingly high level of disability, three employees have been working at Foodbank for more than 12 years.
Keith Ryniker, who started in 2002, said he looked forward to his days at Foodbank.
“I really enjoy the work and being active; it’s a really good cause,” he said.
Rocky Bay Employment Services Manager Juliet Rajmohan said employment gave people living with a disability independence, as well as being a source of extra income.
Long-term employees: (front) Alby, Colin and Belinda with (back) Foodbank CEO Greg Hebble, support worker Lorraine and Keith, who started work at Foodbank in 2002.
Over the past 20 years Foodbank has provided more than 41 million meals in WA.
It is estimated 2.3 million people in Australia live below the poverty line including 575,000 children. More than 516,000 people seek food support every month – around 51,000 in WA.
agencies were withdrawing more than 2000 kilos of food per day.
Around 50 of Western Australia’s leading food companies were also regularly donating produce to Foodbank.
Mr Hamilton said Lotterywest continued to provide support and within the fi rst 12 months, a large new freezer was built at the back of the building.
“When I saw it, I said to Doug: ‘You will never fi ll this up’. But two weeks later I went out and it was full and Foodbank has just gotten bigger and bigger and never looked back,” he said.
Infrastructure to support Foodbank WA’s growth has remained a critical challenge.
In the mid 2000s, then Chairman Denis Ryan OAM led the organisation to launch its 2030 Building the Future program to raise the capital it needed to build a new Foodbank in Perth and others in regional locations.
Mr Ryan helped secure land in the new Perth Airport precinct through a partnership with Perth Airport, and also started discussions to secure State Government funding.
With the opening of the new Centre for Hunger Relief at Perth Airport, Foodbank now has the capacity to better support the welfare sector, securing more food and helping feed more WA families in need long into the future.
ADCO Constructions are proud to have been involvedin the deliveryof the new Foodbank WA Centre forHunger Reliefat Perth Airport.Established in 1972, ADCO have completed over 3000 projects throughout Australia.With annual revenues in excess of $700 million, and over 400 direct employeesADCO is rated as one of Australia’s top100 private companies.
Best People. Best Practice. Best Outcomes.Great Cause.
06 FOODBANK
Food donations falling
Foodbank WA will need to provide more than 6,600,000 meals a year by 2019 – almost double the amount provided in 2014.
The greatest challenge facing Foodbank WA is securing both the volume of food and type of food needed to tackle this growing and forecast demand for hunger relief in the community.
Relying on donated food will no longer be a viable or sustainable solution. In fact, donated products from many sources is declining as manufacturers and retailers become more eff ective at managing their production, stock levels and waste.
The need to bridge the gap in food supply becomes more compelling when you consider the benefi ts of ensuring every Western Australian has enough to eat.
According to a recent independent study by Net Balance into the social return on investment of Foodbank’s activities, in addition to addressing immediate hunger needs, food security contributes to improvements in physical health, emotional wellbeing, sense of self-worth, social relationships and ultimately overall standard of living.
Combined with the economic and environmental benefi ts of food not going to waste, the benefi t to society generated by every kilo of food supplied is valued at $23.
Future investment in purchasing more of the key pantry staples is a priority for Foodbank to combat falling donations. Partners are now being sought to help Foodbank fund cost-eff ective food purchases that will allow the charity to support people and families experiencing disadvantage.
Foodbank WA will need to provide more than 6.6 million meals a year by 2019 – almost double the amount provided in 2014.
In WA it is estimated that three per cent of the population, or 77,000 people, experience food insecurity.
Australians facing hungerW ater, food and shelter are basic
needs of every human being. Without access to clean water,
nutritious food or adequate housing, it is impossible for people to develop and thrive.
In a country such as Australia, it is taken for granted these essentials are available to and accessed by all people. Unfortunately this is not the case – too many Australians are left behind.
It is estimated 2.3 million people in Australia live below the poverty line, including 575,000 children. Foodbank’s own research shows more than 516,000 people are seeking food support every month – around 51,000 live in WA.
For these people daily life is a struggle as they battle to meet their own and their family’s basic needs. This aff ects their physical health and also impacts on their relationships, ability to learn or work eff ectively, sense of self-worth and their standard of living.
Foodbank is concerned with redressing this imbalance by fi ghting hunger in Australia. By ensuring people have access to safe,
nutritious food in times of need, the organisation hopes people can get back on their feet faster.
Providing a meal does more than satisfy the immediate need for food: it provides support and encouragement, alleviates stress and improves emotional wellbeing.
With a newly opened Centre for Hunger Relief and a fl eet of refrigerated vehicles, Foodbank has a strong platform to help fi ght hunger in WA and for building people’s skills and abilities to improve their health and wellbeing.
How to donateIf you would like to help Foodbank buy food, head online to www.foodbankwa.org.au or phone 9258 9277.
CP270415W3AFOOD
Each year, our customers donate tins of food or money towards the FOODBANK Winter Appeal.These generous donations have gone on to feed thousands of families in crisis
throughout Western Australia and for this we say thank you.
This year we are delighted to again be partnering with FOODBANK WA with the Winter Appeal from Saturday 4th July to Sunday 12th July. Woolies customers can purchase a tin of food
during their shop and place in the bins provided in our stores or can purchase a FOODBANK Virtual Can for $2 available at the checkout or service desk, with all proceeds donated to
FOODBANK WA.
It’s a small gesture that goes a long way!
with your help we’ve proudly supported FOODbank in WA since 1995.
Purchase a FOODBANK Virtual Can for $2
from 4th -12th July at the check out or
service desk with all proceeds going to FOODBANK WA.
07Fighting hunger in Australia
more than 40 million meals a year through a network of over 2800 charities and 970 schools.
Foodbank fi ghts hunger by acting as a link between the food and grocery industry and emergency relief and welfare agencies.
More than 700 companies donate food and groceries to Foodbank nationally.
These donations include stock that is close to expiry, has incorrect labelling or damaged packaging, is excess to requirements or is from slow-moving or deleted lines.
Locally Foodbank WA works with more than 250 vendors, farmers and retailers to rescue and secure as much local produce as possible. The goal is always to source products locally where possible to reduce the signifi cant transport costs of getting stock from interstate and overseas.
A new fl eet of refrigerated trucks is helping Foodbank WA collect and distribute more fresh and frozen foods to people in need.
BHP Billiton recently invested $558,000, allowing the charity to purchase fi ve new refrigerated vehicles to replace its ageing fl eet.
Foodbank WA General Manager of Operations Colin Woodward said the trucks would allow the organisation to collect and transport more fresh and frozen produce which would otherwise go to landfi ll.
“The trucks keep produce fresh as it is transported long distances between farms and donors in country towns to our Perth warehouse, meaning we now have the ability to supply a
Cool wheels replace an ageing fl eet
Food banking is a crucial global movement operating to fi ght hunger and improve food security.
Inadequate access to food or the capacity of a person to acquire and consume a nutritious diet and meagre supply of food to or within a community are key elements of food insecurity.
Inappropriate use of food caused by lack of nutrition knowledge and/or skills is also a key element, which is why education is a very important part of the work Foodbank WA does.
The prevalence of food insecurity in the Australian population is estimated at being from as low as two per cent to as high as 24 per cent in higher risk groups.
In Western Australia it is estimated that three per cent of the population or around 77,000 people experience food insecurity. This ranges from anxiety about food access and inappropriate food choices leading to poor health, through to people who face extreme hunger, regularly miss meals or eat food of low to no nutritional value.
Foodbank WA strives to eff ectively tackle multiple aspects of food insecurity, aiming to get more food to more people through increased access and supply and by educating people about how to choose, prepare and eat food that better supports their health and wellbeing.
The organisation is part of a national federation of Foodbanks in Australia. Collectively, Foodbank is the largest food relief charity, distributing
Food insecurity on the rise
A lmost 60 per cent of the food distributed by WA’s emergency relief and welfare sector is supplied by
Foodbank WA. While there are certain groups that experience food insecurity at a higher rate than the general population, Foodbank’s research shows 74 per cent of people it helps in WA are from low-income families.
One of Foodbank’s key partnerships is with Wanslea Family Services, where they provide support to foster carers and grandparents raising their grandchildren full-time. In 2014 Foodbank distributed 148,500 kilos or enough food for almost 200,000 meals to Wanslea families in Perth, Bunbury, Albany and Geraldton.
Wanslea CEO Tricia Murray said without the help of Foodbank, many of its foster grandparents would simply not survive.
Foodbank trucks will travel more than 110,000km and move around 3.5 million kilograms of food this year.
“I feel that without Foodbank, many of our families would sink below the poverty line.” – Wanslea CEO Tricia Murray.
greater volume of fresh fruit and vegetables to boost meal qualities and variety,” he said.
Foodbank predicts the trucks will travel more than 110,000km and move around 3.5 million kilos of food this year.
BHP Billiton Iron Ore Senior Manager Community and Indigenous Aff airs Richard O’Connell said the decision to support Foodbank WA to transport
crucial emergency foods to Western Australians in need was an easy one.
“Children have a better chance in life when their healthy growth and development is supported,” Mr O’Connell said. “The distribution of food to charities and community groups ensures disadvantaged individuals across the state have access to nutritional food.”
BHP Billiton’s Richard O’Connell, Steve Martin of food donor Sealanes and Foodbank’s Colin Woodward.
Vital support for charities
Nationally, Foodbank is the largest food relief charity, distributing more than 40 million meals a year through a network of over 2800 charities and 970 schools.
“I feel that without Foodbank, many of our families would sink below the poverty line,” she said.
“Being able to access food from Foodbank means they can off er healthy, nutritious meals to their grandchildren and keep their head above water. For many of our low-income foster carers, taking others under their wing stretches the family budget. Being able to access food support allows them to provide healthy meals, but also means they have more money to spend on other things, be it clothes, school resources or on activities that other children enjoy.”
The West Australian Council of Social Service (WACOSS) CEO Irina Cattalini said the growth in Foodbank over the past fi ve years meant it now played a vital role supporting the emergency relief sector.
“The increased number of outlets in regional areas, along with Foodbank’s expansion in Perth, has allowed emergency relief services greater access to cheap, quality food. Services are now able to use their limited funding to assist with other basic needs,” Ms Cattalini said.
“It is unfortunate however, that in a wealthy state like WA so many people go hungry and that we need emergency relief services and organisations like Foodbank to meet the very basic needs of people in fi nancial crisis.”
Job losses, a weakening economy and continuing cost of living challenges in WA are expected to see demand for emergency relief services, including food, remain high.
“In the current climate we expect to see more and more working families needing help,” Foodbank WA CEO Greg Hebble said.
“We also expect the ageing population to have an impact on our demand. We already get regular calls and messages on our Facebook page from seniors asking for help. We are planning for some tough days ahead.”
Mark collects food from a local food pantry supplied by Foodbank.
Theresa is a grandmother providing full-time care to her grandchildren.
08 FOODBANK
Participants – Adults
2355
Other health workers trained
95
For Foodbank, helping relieve hunger in the community involves more than simply providing a meal. For many people and
families, poor nutrition stems not from lack of food, but from making poor food choices and eating food of low or no nutritional value.
Education is key to building skills and confi dence in children and adults. Foodbank WA’s Food Sensations® program was established to provide a hands-on educational experience that equips people with the skills to prepare healthy meals, make smart food choices and understand the benefi ts of good nutrition.
“Our Food Sensations® programs are designed to give people the skills, knowledge and awareness that healthy eating doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated and it is something they can readily achieve at any age,” Healthy Food For All Manager Rex Milligan said.
“That’s the crux of our sessions; to show that it is easy, convenient, tasty, cheap and fun to eat healthy food.”
It is the interactive approach of Food Sensations® that makes it so successful in getting children excited about healthy eating.
Mr Milligan said the primary aim of the program was for it to be an enjoyable experience so students made the connection between healthy food and fun.
“When I fi rst started, I went out to see a session. They were working with 15-year-old Aboriginal boys whose only interest in life was Aussie Rules. They couldn’t care less about food and when the staff were talking to them about healthy eating, they showed no interest,” he said.
“But when we got on to the cooking, put a knife in their hands and asked them to cut stuff up, they were completely engaged. You could see them really happily working together to create something. All the talking, joking and looking out the window stopped. At the end, they talked about what they had made and sat down and ate together; it was a fun experience for them.”
At the end of a Food Sensations® workshop, participants receive a Foodbank recipe book to help them cook healthy meals at home.
The recipes are simple and use readily available and aff ordable ingredients.
“We give the students recipe books to take home so they can give the book to their parents and say ‘Mum or Dad, can you buy that from the shop because I want to make it at home’,” Mr Milligan said.
“It’s very rewarding for staff , when they return to a school, to hear from kids who are cooking the recipes at home and swapping junk food for food they can make themselves.”
By attracting additional funding, Foodbank has been able to expand its education programs to include sessions with parents and disadvantaged adults, migrant and refugee groups, people with disabilities and prison groups. The organisation helps new migrants navigate the supermarket and learn how to budget and shop and works with prisoners to establish healthy eating habits.
“We go into prisons and help them because there is a lot of evidence to show prisoners’ eating habits are poor and those habits continue after they leave prison,” Mr Milligan said. “We try to show them how they can adopt healthy eating on a limited budget after they leave.”
In conjunction with Diabetes WA, Foodbank recently established a new program targeting disadvantaged adolescents who are at greater risk of being overweight and developing poor eating habits.
“Fuel Your Future is the only program in Western Australia specifi cally designed to address the cooking and food literacy skills of young people aged 12 to 18,” Mr Milligan said.
“This can be a hard to reach group and we’re really pleased at this early stage with the results. The model of cooking, learning and eating together makes food education fun and gives these teenagers confi dence to prepare simple, healthy meals for themselves.”
Foodbank is currently working with funding partners to expand its programs to address the needs of new parents and older people. “Our aim is to support people across their lifecycle to adopt good eating habits and enjoy improved health,” Mr Milligan said.
Food knowledge is power
Superheroes help students embrace health
To support the School Breakfast Program and Food Sensations®, Foodbank nutritionists collaborated to develop a
resource for school-age children that would showcase the benefi ts of healthy eating.
Foodbank public health nutritionist Jenny Tartaglia said with the help of a university health promotion student, they came up with the idea of using placemats as an educational tool.
“When the placemats went out to schools, we talked to kids about them and realised we were on to something really great. It became something that kids were really engaged in and loved,” she said.
The placemats feature fun food characters, created by a local illustrator, each with a superpower that transforms them from a normal fruit or vegetable into a superhero food.
“We still follow the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, but we’re using these fun characters to explain healthy eating,” Ms Tartaglia said.
“They’re basically an everyday food from the fi ve food groups and they transform into the superhero character with a superpower, which is just the benefi ts of eating fruit and vegetables, protein, dairy and carbohydrates.
“Then we have zombie foods, which are the foods high in salt, sugar and fat; foods that we
shouldn’t be eating too much of. The kids can really relate to how they look and feel, thinking they’ll turn into a zombie if they eat those foods.
“Then we have some body monsters, which are obesity, decay and illness. They’re the consequences of eating the zombie foods.”
Schools bring out the placemats during the breakfast club for kids to enjoy. There are eight diff erent mats, each with a story and activity.
Foodbank has also developed Superhero Food collector cards and will release a storybook and online resource kit for teachers over the coming months.
Food Education Programs 2014
Food Sensations® is funded by the State Government Departments of Health and Education.
Images: Robert Frith - Acorn Photo.
Fuel Your Future is the only program in WA specifi cally designed to address the cooking and food literacy skills of youths aged 12 to 18 years.
4514Participants –
Children
71
Schools visited –
metro and regional
It’s very rewarding for staff , when they return to a school, to hear from kids who are cooking the recipes at home and swapping junk food for food they can make themselves.
Foodbank WA’s programs teach children that eating healthy can be fun.
Foodbank has expanded its education programs to include parents and disadvantaged adults, migrant and refugee groups, people with disabilities and prison groups.
www.bhpbilliton.com
Working together to support healthy growth and development in school children
BHP Billiton proudly partners with Foodbank WA in a range of important ways, including the delivery of the Healthy Food For All Program to 16 schools in the Pilbara region each year.
Together we are leaving a positive legacy for the future.
09Fighting hunger in Australia
Foodbank WA’s Regional Strategy combines two of the organisation’s most successful programs, the School Breakfast Program
and Food Sensations®, to support regional communities in the areas of nutrition and healthy food preparation.
In the last fi ve years, Foodbank staff have travelled more than 130,000km across almost every region in the state, working with students and parents and training teachers and other health professionals in locations as remote as Kalumburu, Punmu, Pia Wadjarri, Warakurna and Esperance.
A key focus of Foodbank’s Regional Strategy is the East Pilbara, where Foodbank’s nutritionists have been regularly visiting local communities since 2011 with the support of BHP Billiton.
“With the funding we have received from BHP Billiton, we have been able to deliver our School Breakfast and Food Sensations® programs in 16 schools across the East Pilbara,” Foodbank
WA Regional Strategy Coordinator Christal Sercombe said.
“Our goal is to work with students, staff and the community to encourage healthy eating in the school and at home. Not only are we providing meals through the School Breakfast Program, but we are also providing important life skills around healthy food choices and food preparation.”
BHP Billiton Iron Ore Senior Manager Community and Indigenous Aff airs Richard O’Connell said supporting Foodbank WA to deliver the School Breakfast Program and Food Sensations® was an important element of BHP’s Pilbara education investment.
“Ensuring children have a healthy breakfast and learn about nutrition is essential to their growth and development, in turn improving education outcomes and building life skills,” he said.
Food Sensations® sessions, which are provided to students of all ages, their parents and teachers,
A strategy for regional areasuse fun, interactive activities and hands-on cooking to help people learn.
“We want everyone to walk away from our sessions believing healthy food is enjoyable and that they are able to make it themselves,” Ms Sercombe said.
“We always make sure we change the recipes according to what is available at the local store. If something is not available, we’ll substitute it for other healthy ingredients, whether it be fresh, tinned or frozen. Healthy food is accessible to everyone; our job is to help people see where it is and how it can be made.”
Research shows the program has positive benefi ts on the community, particularly children.
“Food Sensations® has been continuously improving students’ knowledge, skills and attitudes about healthy food since our fi rst visit,” Ms Sercombe said.
“The initiative has been so successful because we are able to return to the same place every year. We are building relationships with the community because they see the same people come back. That consistency builds trust.”
Ms Sercombe said it was important to build partnerships with local service providers.
The Food Sensations® program provides a hands-on educational experience that equips people with skills to prepare healthy meals and understand the benefi ts of good nutrition.
In the last fi ve years, staff have travelled more than 130,000km across almost every WA region, working with students and parents and training teachers and health professionals.
Children at the Rawa Community School in Punmu enjoy the hands-on experience off ered by Food Sensations®.
“Without our partners in the regions, we wouldn’t be able to do the work we do. They support us in numerous ways, sharing their local knowledge and contacts, travelling with us and helping spread positive health messages,” she said.
“We have also been training local service providers and teachers to deliver Food Sensations® in their communities. This means the messages we are promoting can continue even when we aren’t there.”
In 2014, an average of 725 children a week attended a School Breakfast Club in the East Pilbara, while 772 students and 112 adults participated in Food Sensations® sessions.
10 FOODBANK
It can be hard to believe that in a country as wealthy as Australia, there are still thousands of kids who go to school every day without
eating breakfast.
Responding to demand, Foodbank started its School Breakfast Program (SBP) in WA in 2001 with 17 schools in the metro area.
Since then the program has gone from strength to strength. Funded by the State Government, BHP Billiton and the Telethon Trust, the SBP now operates in 432 schools across the state, providing more than 55,000 breakfasts a week to 17,000 children.
There are also 22,000 emergency meals provided each week for children who may not have lunch or recess or need to take a food parcel home.
School Breakfast Program Coordinator Miranda Chester said two thirds of the schools were in regional communities, spreading from Kalumburu in the north to Esperance down south.
She said many challenges the program had faced were around the fact that WA was such a big state.
“It’s not only distances, but weather and road conditions that prove problematic. There are also issues at schools including storage and even fridge space,” Ms Chester said.
As the program has expanded, Foodbank has worked hard to establish relationships with several partners in order to transport food in a cost-eff ective way.
“A good example of that is Kalumburu where we have to transport the food from Perth to Darwin and then barge it back into WA because the roads aren’t good enough for trucks,” Ms Chester said.
“We have established an agreement with the Shorelands Group which ships it in for free.”
Harvey Fresh has also supported the program for the past four years, providing around $60,000 of orange juice each year to help children get their necessary intake of vitamin C.
Ms Chester said many regional children did not have access to citrus fruit and could become vitamin C defi cient.
The program operates diff erently in each of the 432 schools that participate. While some schools open it up to all classes as a big breakfast club, others will quietly supply food to students on an as needs basis.
Providing more than a good breakfast
Ms Chester said the program had to be fl exible in order to be a success.
“The way that it is sustainable is we give schools the fl exibility to run it the way they want, so it’s not a model that becomes a burden on the school,” she said. “They can adapt it so it works for them.
“Once the school takes ownership and they get their volunteers and teachers involved, then they sustain it themselves and all we really need to do is supply the food.”
Ms Chester said evaluations and program feedback from school principals found the SBP to be a huge success, not only helping avoid malnutrition but also increasing mental, educational and social wellbeing.
“It doesn’t just put food in kids’ stomachs, there’s also the mental health benefi ts. For some kids it’s about showing them that someone cares. That’s a big thing for a lot of kids,” she said.
“Then there are the education benefi ts of helping attendance and concentration levels. We have seen educational outcomes improve in children who go to the SBP.
“The teachers will often use it as a way to teach social skills to the kids. For a lot of them it’s the only time they’ll actually sit at a table with someone else, so they’ll learn to use a knife and fork and clean their dishes. It’s also been shown to improve the relationships between teachers and children.
Telling studyR esearchers at Edith Cowan University
(ECU) undertook a one-year pilot study investigating the impact of the
School Breakfast Program on schools in low socioeconomic areas.
More than 350 students and 30 teachers from three metro and two regional schools were interviewed for the Food For Learning Research Project.
ECU Associate Head of School for the School of Education Dr Matt Byrne said the study found Foodbank’s program had a positive impact on many students’ schooling, particularly in increasing attendance at school and helping them be more interested and attentive during class.
“Many of the teachers spoke to us about how students were much more engaged in their classwork,” Dr Byrne said.
“They had more concentration, there was reduced behaviour incidents, they had an increased readiness for learning and greater productivity in their classwork.
“When this is achieved at a whole school level, it contributes to a more positive overall school atmosphere.”
Dr Byrne said the benefi ts were felt even more among Aboriginal students, where remote schools relied heavily on the Breakfast Program as a way to encourage school attendance and bond the community.
“It was very clear in the schools that have a majority of students from a disadvantaged background that the program was integral, not only to their schooling and health, but to the school overall,” Dr Byrne said.
“There is a great need in many of our communities for the Breakfast Program; without it you have children who are going to school hungry. If you have a growling tummy and you’re fi ve or six years old, you’re not going to want to engage in your learning.”
Dr Byrne said many teachers surveyed acknowledged if the School Breakfast Program did not exist, they would be feeding students out of their own pockets.
Educational Benefi ts
Educ
atio
nal F
acto
rs
% schools reporting positive
association
Concentration
Behaviour
Social skills
Punctuality
Attendance
Engagement
Academic outcomes
Hea
lth a
nd S
ocia
l Fac
tors
Physical health
Health promoting environment
Social relations: staff
Mental health
Awareness of healthy eating
Eating behaviours generally
Food selection and preparation skills
Social relations: community
% schools reporting positive association
94%
91%
89%
85%
84%
81%
81%
97%
93%
91%
90%
89%
88%
76%
75%
The School Breakfast Program operates in 432 schools across the state, providing more than 55,000 breakfasts a week to 17,000 children.
There are 22,000 emergency meals provided each week for children who may not have lunch or recess or need to take a food parcel home.
Health and Social Benefi ts
“For some kids it’s about showing them someone cares. That’s a big thing for a lot of kids.”School Breakfast Program Coordinator Miranda Chester
“For us it’s about helping that child have a fair chance at learning and developing and having a successful life. Through that child we can then reach out to the parents, so it’s a way into the family to try to improve the situation.”
Ms Chester said it was important to realise there were many reasons a child might come to school without breakfast and it wasn’t always because there was no food in the house.
“It might be because the parents go to work at 5am and there is food in the house but the child gets up late, rushes off to school and hasn’t got the skills or confi dence to make themselves breakfast, so they just don’t have it,” she said.
“Out in the regions they might have breakfast at 5am because they’ve got to travel for an hour and a half to get to school, by the time recess comes they’re starving.”
The program has also proved successful in reducing school bullying and loitering around shops because it provides a club to attend most mornings.
The School Breakfast Program ensures students start their day the right way.
Children from Warlawurra Catholic School in the Kimberley.
Fighting hunger in Australia
A boost of vitamin CFor the past four years Western Australian company Harvey Fresh has supplied Foodbank with thousands of litres of orange juice for the School Breakfast Program.
This year Harvey Fresh donated more than 45,000 litres of UHT unsweetened orange juice to the program to support 160 schools in regional and remote communities .
Harvey Fresh General Manager Paul Lorimer said it was great to be part of something that gave school kids the opportunity to have a nutritious breakfast every day.
“It’s a great way to ensure kids get their vitamin C intake,” he said.
“It’s an important aspect of their overall health and wellbeing.”
Mr Lorimer said it was important for other companies to get behind Foodbank’s work to ensure it could continue helping people in need.
“At Harvey Fresh we believe being involved in any community program has signifi cant benefi ts and this is our chance to give back to the community that gives so much to us,” he said.
“I would encourage any company to get involved in a program that provides such a great opportunity for all WA kids to get a nutritious, healthy start to the day.”
A healthy start to the day
E very morning at 8am students eagerly arrive at Midvale Primary School’s Breakfast Club to settle their grumbling tummies before
turning their attention to their classes that day.
Since 2008 the school has run Foodbank’s Breakfast Program, providing toast, cereal, Vegemite and fruit for the students before school, as well as emergency lunch meals that include a sandwich and piece of fruit.
Aboriginal and Islander Education Offi cer Garry O’Donnell coordinates the Breakfast Club and interacts with the students each morning.
Deputy Principal Nicole Kovalevs said feeding 50 to 60 students each day gave the club a ‘school camp’ feel and started the day off on an optimistic note.
“The kids look forward to coming to school because they know they can start their day that way,” she said. “They come and have a chat with Garry and it gets the day off in a positive manner.”
Feeding 50 to 60 Midvale Primary School students each day gives the Breakfast Club a ‘school camp’ feel and starts the day off on an optimistic note.
A breakfast club at Midvale Primary School teaches students valuable social skills.
“Every morning at 8am students eagerly arrive to settle their grumbling tummies before turning their attention to their classes.”
The program has proved a valuable opportunity for children to connect with one another, as well as their teachers and other school staff .
“Sometimes a kid will come through and Garry will notice they might not be having a good day and we can keep an eye on them, so it helps with our pastoral care as well,” Ms Kovalevs said.
She said the school had also been using the program to help teach students manners and understand they were expected to tidy up after themselves.
“There are lots of routines that come about which are off shoot benefi ts to it,” Ms Kovalevs said. “You’ve got the opportunity to teach social skills. The ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, waiting in line, making sure the plates are returned to the right spot and those things.”
While the breakfast club gives children a sense of inner-school community, it also extends to families, with parents choosing to accompany their children to the club occasionally.
“I think it’s another feature of the school that helps make that link between home and school and is looking at the whole picture, not just the reading and writing in the classroom. It looks at the whole child and supporting the community,” Ms Kovalevs said.
For 15 years the Foodbank WA School Breakfast Program has been helping make sure WA kids start school with the fuel they need.
With more kids needing support and a greater demand for extra food to help provide recess or lunch meals, Foodbank WA is now seeking additional funding to give schools all the resources they need.
You can help kids here in WA to learn and thrive by joining the new School Breakfast Program Supporters’ Club.
Please contact our Fundraising Manager on 9258 9277 or email [email protected] for more details.
HELP MAKE SURE NO CHILD STARTS THEIR DAY HUNGRY
SCHOOLBREAKFASTPROGRAM
15YEARS
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12 FOODBANK
Foodbank has been built on the back of hundreds of volunteers who have donated their time to the charity over the years.
For many years regional branches might only have one paid staff member and rely solely on volunteers for day-to-day operations.
Today Foodbank has a staff of around 50 employees and a workforce of more than 150 regular volunteers across its six branches.
“Without volunteers we just wouldn’t be a viable operation. We’d have to pay people and we wouldn’t be able to aff ord to deliver the services that we do at the low cost we do,” Human Resources Manager David Warren said.
“We often say it and it’s a bit cliché, but volunteers are the heart and soul, they are what makes Foodbank happen.
“Our regular volunteers support Foodbank by driving trucks and forklifts, cleaning, stacking shelves, sorting food, providing administration support and helping out at events in Perth and at regional branches.”
The organisation also has a strong corporate volunteer program and hosted 670 corporate volunteers during the past year.
Mr Warren said regular volunteers were trained and learned necessary skills for their jobs, but for those who volunteered casually, there was no shortage of tasks that made a huge diff erence.
One area corporate volunteers play a vital role in is packing food hampers. Hundreds of hampers of frozen goods are packed in Perth every week and distributed through the branch network.
“It’s a lot of work done in a short period of time, so when our corporate volunteers leave here at the end of the day they have prepared enough food for hundreds of families,” Mr Warren said.
“That’s a really great feeling to turn up, make that sort of impact and go home and know the hampers you’ve made are going to feed people in need over the coming days.”
Mr Warren said Foodbank had found corporate volunteer sessions were also great team-building days for larger companies.
“Employees come in and they might be working with people they’ve never met before,” he said. “They work for the same company but don’t really know the people they’re with and by the end of the day, they’re all talking. They have more of an appreciation for what the other person does at work.”
Volunteers: heart and soul
Foodbank has a staff of around 50 employees and a workforce of more than 150 regular volunteers across its six branches.
The organisation has a strong corporate volunteer program and hosted 670 corporate volunteers during the past year.
It is not hard to see Foodbank’s volunteers have passion and enjoy what they do, with a number of volunteers assisting since the organisation’s inception.
Last year Geoff Banks and Ron Fleay were celebrated and farewelled after 20 years of volunteer service. Both started at Foodbank when they retired from full-time work in 1994.
“For our volunteers, it’s not really about the work, it’s about the people they help, the people they meet and the people they work with,” Mr Warren said.
Foodbank is in the final stages of setting up its new social kitchen, which will provide an
Ron Fleay (left) and Geoff Banks (right) recognised for 20 years volunteering, with 15-year staff member Hamish Dobie.
Marina and her colleagues from Bankwest pack frozen hampers.
opportunity for volunteers to spend a day helping to prepare pre-cooked meals. The new venture will consist of only one paid staff member and a team of volunteers preparing 500 to 1000 frozen meals a week.
“For our volunteers, it’s not really about the work, it’s about the people they help, the people they meet and the people they work with.”
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13Fighting hunger in Australia
Carry on Can Day a success
When a single Bankwest employee chose to volunteer with Foodbank three years ago, it sparked a chain of
support for the organisation.
Last year almost 150 Bankwest staff volunteered their time at the food relief charity, while corporately the bank organised events to raise food and money.
Annually Bankwest now hosts a public donation drive for canned goods, known as ‘Carry a Can Day’, outside Bankwest Place at Raine Square to help those struggling at Christmas.
Last year’s event was a particular highlight, with guest appearances from Foodbank Ambassador Shannon Hurn of the West Coast Eagles, Premier Colin Barnett and Perth Lord Mayor Lisa Scaffi di, amongst others.
Bankwest Head of Community Engagement Craig Spencer said the company also supported Foodbank’s volunteer recognition breakfasts during National Volunteer Week and its Christmas hamper campaign.
Bankwest’s corporate volunteer days with Foodbank kick off with a tour of the warehouse,
before splitting into groups to help pack frozen hampers, sort through food donations and provide general assistance where needed.
Mr Spencer said Bankwest also provided skills and expertise across often forgotten about, but just as vital, areas of need.
“A growing area of interest with Bankwest volunteers is skilled-based volunteering. For example, a Bankwest volunteer assisted Foodbank to set up its Facebook social media strategy and this colleague provides ongoing support in a mentoring role,” he said.
“We are looking forward to getting teams into Foodbank’s new commercial kitchen to help create some value-added nutritious meals as well.”
Mr Spencer said Bankwest employees enjoyed the time they spent with Foodbank, knowing the diff erence they could make in the community, as well as the support they off ered Foodbank staff during their two volunteering days each year.
“They appreciate the opportunity to understand more about the issue of food insecurity in WA while enjoying a day of team building,” he said.
L-R: Bankwest’s Garry the Squirrel, Drew Good from Charter Hall, Foodbank WA CEO Greg Hebble, Western Australian Premier Colin Barnett and Rob De Luca from Bankwest.
Lyn DonnellyIt was a chance encounter with Foodbank’s founding CEO in a hardware store that saw Lyn Donnelly begin her journey as a volunteer.
“I worked in a hardware store in Belmont and the founding CEO Doug Paling used to come in there and shop. I got talking to him and I said ‘I’m retiring and thinking of volunteering’ and he said come to Foodbank, so that’s what I did,” Ms Donnelly said.
It’s been almost 10 years since that moment. During that time Ms Donnelly has worked in Foodbank’s Perth offi ce, writing up invoices and operating the weigh station, which she now does two days a week.
“When people go shopping and they’ve got their trolleys, they come through and we weigh out what they’ve taken,” she said. “We have to work out the weight of the food by taking off the weight of the trolleys. I don’t use a calculator so it keeps my brain ticking over.”
Ms Donnelly said volunteering at Foodbank was all about the people she was able to help and the relationships she had the opportunity to create.
“Once you retire, unless you join clubs you don’t get to meet other people,” she said.
“At Foodbank you get to know the people from the agencies because they come in on a certain day each week. You get to know how they’re struggling or how they’re going.”
Reliable and hard-working, Ms Donnelly was named Foodbank Perth Volunteer of the Year in 2012. Her commitment is driven by a love for what she is doing and gives her the opportunity to enjoy retirement without being stuck at home all week.
Retiree Ray Jordon has been part of Foodbank’s Bunbury branch since its inception in 2004 and contributes to the operation of the School Breakfast Program in more than 40 schools in the area.
“I organise the School Breakfast Program throughout the district, from Waroona, down to Margaret River and Manjimup, across to Collie and all the local Bunbury schools,” he said.
“I also coordinate the transport for the trucks and vehicles when they do the collections to and from Perth and all around the orchards for food pick-up.”
Through his work with the School Breakfast Program, Mr Jordon was able to see fi rst-hand the positive eff ect the initiative has had on children and the community.
Ray Jordon
“The School Breakfast Program is marvellous because it gives the kids a good meal and something in their stomachs, so it improves their ability to concentrate,” he said.
Mr Jordon has been recognised for his eff orts over the years, taking out Foodbank’s Volunteer of the Year award twice. He plans to continue his work with Foodbank for as long as he can.
Bankwest employees enjoy the time they spend with Foodbank, knowing the diff erence they can make in the community.
Volunteering at Foodbank is all about the people Lyn is able to help and the relationships she has the opportunity to create.
When Foodbank asked for a hand, we gave them 400.
Bankwest, a division of Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL/Australian credit licence 234945. BWA-Ad213 220415
µ bankwest.com.au
Bankwest is proud to be Foodbank WA’s largest corporate volunteer in the fight against hunger in WA.
14 FOODBANK
Feeding remote and regional WA
Within fi ve years of opening, Foodbank was receiving strong demand from regional communities for food
relief. In 1999 it partnered with WestAus Crisis to supply food to the Peel region and within the next fi ve years, Foodbank opened regional branches in Albany, Mandurah, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Geraldton and Bunbury.
Today, almost 60 per cent of Foodbank’s annual distribution or the equivalent of more
than 2,840,000 meals a year is delivered via its country branches. The charity also provides food to more than 250 regional and remote schools through the School Breakfast Program, giving it a truly statewide reach.
Foodbank PeelMoving to a new, larger warehouse in 2013 saw an accompanying increase in distribution through Foodbank Peel. In 2014 the branch
helped supply more than 365,000 meals to the local community, an increase of 30 per cent on the previous year.
Up on volume by a further 17 per cent already this year, the branch is seeing an ongoing rise in the number of people seeking help.
Branch Manager Caroline Cox said that while the strong demand continued to surprise her, the increased storage capacity was helping them to meet the need.
“We have great relationships with our local agencies, retailers and suppliers which makes a diff erence trying to tackle the problem,” Ms Cox said.
“Recently one of our supermarkets changed hands and the new owner Coles donated over $12,500 in frozen and dairy goods to us. This would have helped 200 to 300 local families.”
The Peel branch has also teamed up with the City of Mandurah to run a ‘Garden to Plate’ project, showing people how to grow their own vegetables and cook healthy meals.
“The funding helped us update our small kitchen and with a nutritionist based at our branch, it’s great to be able to deliver Foodbank’s education programs locally,” Ms Cox said.
Foodbank BunburyPeople in the South West have been struggling if demand at the local Foodbank is anything to go by. In 2014 Bunbury experienced a record 46 per cent growth over the previous year and supplied enough food for 845,000 meals.
“Demand has just soared,” Branch Manager Carol Hearn said. “Not only are we servicing Bunbury and surrounding communities, but we now get requests from across the region including Collie, Nannup and Bridgetown.”
Bunbury is also a vital hub for the collection and distribution of fresh produce throughout the Foodbank network. Around 30,000 kilos a month of fruit and vegetables are donated by South West farmers.
“This support is allowing us to increase the fresh produce we can supply to the people we help, especially children,” Ms Hearn said.
“Fruit goes to schools here and in other parts of WA and I’m very proud of our local growers who help make this possible.”
Recently the branch has benefi tted from a donation of shelves and racking from the Woolworths town centre store which is undergoing renovations.
“Donations like this from local businesses keep us going. We are always looking for ways to improve the branch,” Ms Hearn said.
Foodbank AlbanyDemand in Great Southern also continues to grow, with a 10 per cent increase in food distributed over last year. The branch, which has recently been refurbished and increased capacity by around 40 per cent, has at times struggled to fi ll the shelves and keep up with demand.
“We’re working hard to secure donations from local growers and retailers to add variety and consistency of supply,” Branch Manager Rod Pfeiff er said.
Foodbank Albany’s ability to collect food from local vendors has also increased recently with the donation of a refrigerated vehicle supplied through Foodbank’s Fleet Refresh Project supported by BHP Billiton.
“The new truck means we can collect more food more effi ciently across the Great Southern,” Mr Pfeiff er said. “We are now providing support to families in need through partnerships with 80 local welfare agencies. We do get good support from the local community, but we can always use more food and we are willing and able to travel to collect it.”
Today, almost 60 per cent of Foodbank’s annual distribution or the equivalent of more than 2,840,000 meals a year is delivered via its country branches.
Coles Halls Head Manager John Holmes and Foodbank Peel Branch Manager Caroline Cox with donated food. Image: Mandurah Mail.
Foodbank Albany Branch Manager Rod Pfeiff er. Image: Albany Advertiser.
Long-time Foodbank Bunbury volunteers Mike O’Connell (left) and Ray Jordon.
The charity provides food to more than 250 regional and remote schools through the School Breakfast Program, giving it a truly statewide reach.
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Fighting hunger in Australia
Foodbank GeraldtonThere are exciting days ahead for Foodbank Geraldton, which turned the sod on land in Webberton Road that will become home to its new distribution and education centre by late 2015.
Supporting the Mid West for more than a decade, the strong demand for food relief has stretched the resources and capacity of the Geraldton branch.
“The need is overwhelming some days,” long-time Branch Manager Pat Hodges said. “Families are doing it tough and we have struggled to cope over the past few years in a building that is just not big enough for us.”
Increasing distribution by another 10 per cent this year, Geraldton is expected to be the fi rst regional branch to supply one million meals a year once the new facility opens.
The $3 million project is being funded by Royalties for Regions Mid West and Lotterywest, but the charity is also seeking additional partners from the region. “We still need a bit more for the project and are also hoping to upgrade our trucks to cope with the loads we are now transporting,” Ms Hodges said.
The new distribution centre will be constructed on land provided by the City of Greater Geraldton, with construction due to start in June 2015.
FoodbankKalgoorlie-BoulderRe-opened in 2011, the Goldfi elds branch continues to grow with a 21 per cent increase in food supplied in 2014 and a further 10 per cent increase in volumes this year to date. The branch supplies food over a wide area ranging from Esperance and Merredin to schools and communities in the Central and Western Deserts.
Local relationships are key for this small but important community hub.
“We work with a lot of local clubs and businesses that help us with fundraising support,” Branch Manager Sandy King said.
“Local retailers and wholesalers are donating surplus or out of code stock to boost the variety of our supply and the local schools get behind us with food drives. We’re a tight-knit community.”
Kalgoorlie Chamber of Commerce staff and members recently rallied to support the charity’s Christmas appeal, raising enough funds to have 80 festive hampers delivered to local families in need. “It was amazing,” Ms King said. “In just over seven days the CCI helped raise the money and it was good to be able to give out the hampers knowing people would have food for Christmas.”
There are exciting days ahead for Foodbank Geraldton, which turned the sod on land that will become home to it’s new distribution and education centre.
L-R: Todd West from Mid West Development Commission with Foodbank Geraldton Branch Manager Pat Hodges and Foodbank CEO Greg Hebble.
L-R: Assistant Manager Rae-Lee Hunter, Manager Sandy King and former manager Annie Viviers. Image: Kalgoorlie Miner.
Foodbank WA’s regional branch network.
How to donateDonations can be dedicated to your local Foodbank branch through the Foodbank website www.foodbankwa.org.au.
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Every $25 you donate will allow us to provide at least 50 meals to those seeking hunger relief. We have thousands of mouths to feed, so every donation will help us stock up for winter.
Donate today foodbankwa.org.au or call 9258 9277
TO WESTERN AUSTRALIANS IN CRISIS, A CAN OF FOOD CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A MEAL AND GOING HUNGRY
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