Foodbank estimates that over 3.6 million Australians are experiencing food insecurity at some point every year, and 27 per cent of those are children.
As well as the homeless, people who find themselves struggling to afford food can also be the family living next door or the student your child sits next to in class.
Below are just a few different ways you can lend a helping hand.
Foodbank
Foodbank is a non-denominational, non-profit organisation which acts as a pantry to the charities and community groups who feed the hungry.
They work with the entire Australian food and grocery industry including farmers, wholesalers, manufacturers and retailers. Donations that come to them include stock that’s out of specification, close to expiry or excess to requirements. Companies also make donations as part of a commitment to social responsibility or a cause-related marketing campaign.
You can help out by donating food, funds, a service - such as office and warehouse equipment or professional expertise - or you can volunteer.
FareShare
FareShare is tackling hunger by rescuing surplus, quality food from supermarkets, farmers and other businesses and cooking it into nutritious meals.
Based in Melbourne, they operate Australia’s largest charity kitchen and with the help of 850 regular volunteers, FareShare cooks 5,000 free meals a day for charities such as soup vans, homeless shelters, women’s refuges and community food banks.
If you live in Melbourne and want to get involved you can volunteer you time in the kitchen, their garden or by delivering some of the meals and more. Or you can also help them fundraise.
Second Bite
SecondBite redistributes surplus fresh food to community food programs around Australia. Food is donated by farmers, wholesalers, markets, supermarkets, caterers and events. The high-quality surplus food is redistributed to community food programs that support people in need from all walks of life.
Now a national organisation, SecondBite has warehouse locations in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart and Devonport, and hubs in suburban and regional Victoria.
There are numerous volunteer options at Second Bite from food delivery assistants, market volunteers and food rescue volunteers. Your workplace can also get involved and as part of an organised team building day can work together to cook meals for those in need.
OzHarvest
OzHarvest collects quality excess food from commercial outlets and delivers it directly to more than 1000 charities supporting people in need across the country.
OzHarvest now operates nationally, rescuing over 100 tonnes of food each week from over 3,000 food donors including supermarkets, hotels, airports, wholesalers, farmers, corporate events, catering companies, shopping centres, delis, cafes, restaurants, film and TV shoots and boardrooms.
You can help out by donating food, money, volunteering with food drives, fundraising events and more.
Insight is not affiliated with any of the above organisations.
