a
at your awesome deeds! SQUEEZE Have
6 MILLION NOURISHING
MEALS!
That you helped serve up this winter - what a citrusy wizard you are.
Because you know that saying, ‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade’? Well, over HALF A MILLION FAMILIES were trying their hardest to live on the equivalent of ‘lemons’ this winter, skipping meals or going days without food until your kindness delivered loads of nourishment and hope into their homes.
We love hanging out with amazing people, flip the page and we’ll introduce you. Or just look in the mirror.
The Juicy Juice: Spring ’25
It’s official,
VICTORIANS
really are the most generous people on earth!
Thanks to YOU, our Winter Appeal put over 6 MILLION MEALS into the hands of people at breaking point all over the state.
With drought conditions forcing regional families to make heartbreaking choices like feeding their livestock or their kids, and Foodbank charity partners across Victoria unable to keep up with demand – we needed to act. Quickly. Essentials like tuna, rice, pasta and cereal were disappearing from our shelves at record rates and we couldn’t get our hands on enough fresh fruit and veg to feed the 69,000 VICTORIANS A DAY who depend on us. Then YOU showed up with a little sunshine for us to share with EVERYONE we support. Helping us raise over 6 MILLION MEALS in our Winter Appeal!
Remember Rebecca, who wor hard to get her family into a financially secure situation until devastating health issues took out all their savings? Thanks to you, she was able to nourish her family through winter and focus on the things that truly matter.
KNOWING I DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT HOW WE’LL PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE MEANS I CAN SPEND TIME WITH MY FAMILY WITHOUT THE LOOMING FEAR. I’M MORE PRESENT WHICH MEANS SO MUCH TO ME.
Now, what does 6 million meals actuallylook like? Well, we could say that’s enough plates of food to line the Great Ocean Road 250 times. Or enough meals to feed everyone in the MCG, 60 times over.
The reality is, you helped create A PLACE AT OUR
Psst. Pass the popcorn!
Like to meet the amazing humans featured in these pages? Well, thanks to the incredible generosity of acclaimed filmmakers Richard and Lisa Keddie, you can. They’v crafted a film about our work - work that happens becaus of YOU...and called it ‘A Place at our Table’. Because that’s what we want for every Victorian.
THREE LITTLE WORDS, that’s all it takes
Lining up on an early morning in Sale for one of our regular Farms to Families markets, there are hundreds of life stories.
only need to ask one question.
“HOW ARE YOU?”
Scan here to watch A PLACE AT OUR TABLE Don’t forget the choc tops!
Our Farms to Families trucks are full of healthy, garden-fresh produce for a week’s worth of nourishment. Every trip, they feed around 300 FAMILIES –and with those 300 families come 300 reasons why people have needed our help.
Rents at record highs. Bills going through the roof. Chatting to folks as they make their way through the
market, it’s clear that times are tough in these parts. But these communities, so tightly knit, show up for one another wherever they can. Whether they’re serving up home cooked meals to someone who’d be going without, or checking in on someone down the street, these communities just do. They make the impossible, possible. Like YOU do. All without even having to ask. They just know.
Scooch over, there’s room for more, thanks to YOU
Clusters of tables covered with plates full of delicious and hearty food, with 40 new friends squeezed in side by side. That’s the community lunches that you help create.
BILL
Behind SMILES
Feeding 69,000 Victorians daily isn’t easy. And it wouldn’t be possible without our 500 charity partners that help make it happen, right across the state.
Knock on any one of their doors, and you’ll be met with warm hospitality, a kind smile and wide-open arms. Enjoy Church in Gippsland is no exception. Locals head there every Friday to be welcomed with a cup of tea and a community lunch. While their food warms up, friends catch up, visitors grab free groceries from the community pantry, kids learn to play dominoes, and we get to meet people like Bill – who, in order to afford the food he needs, has been going without heating or hot water for years now.
Bill tells us that without Foodbank, he wouldn’t be here today. It’s so hard to hear, but we’re so grateful to be the reason behind big, unforgettable smiles like Bill’s. Something that wouldn’t be true without YOU.
They can be
HEROES…
…for much more than one day!
There are so many unsung heroes that make the work we do possible.
Our forklift drivers, our volunteers, the legends behind the wheels of our trucks. Amongst all those heroes are some superstars who never ask to be in the spotlight. Without them, we wouldn’t be Foodbank. We’d just be ‘bank’ (which really doesn’t have the same ring to it…) They’re our food donors, of course!
Like all growers, Dicky Bill’s farmers take on a lot of responsibility – waking at the crack of dawn, ear to the ground, making sure their produce keeps on doing what it does best (growing)! With all that hard work to worry about, they don’t often have time to take a step back to see how far their donations really travel. And boy, do their donations travelFAR
Dicky Bill regularly donates hundreds of kilos of fresh and vibrant salads, herbs and greens to Foodbank. With so many families struggling to afford fresh veggies right now, these donations make a lifechanging difference to the communities we support. So, we think it’s about time someone sung a tune for these unsung heroes. It really is theLEAST we can do!
WOW, THANKS FOR MAKING A PLACE AT OUR TABLE FOR EVERYBODY!
Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads!
Just kidding. We actually need LOADS of roads to keep our Mobile Supermarket Buses travelling around, feeding families right across Melbourne.
From the heart of the city to the outer suburbs and back again, our buses have been racking up the miles this past year, winding their way through Melbourne to reach as many people as we possibly can.
Our bright purple buses have fed nearly 55% MORE people this year, with over 14,000 FAMILIES hopping aboard for their weekly shop. Something that wouldn’t be possible without the help of our a-mazing friends at Kinetic and the DECJUBA Foundation, who keep our Mobile Supermarket Buses on the road and full of food for our community, not to mention YOU – whose support makes all this possible.
Now, if we’re going to keep growing our impact at this rate, we’re going to need waaaay more roads…
TAHIRIH, FARMER
A small town kind of love
Scan here to watch A PLACE AT OUR TABLE
Don’t forget the popcorn!
LEANNE, FOUNDER
Meet Leanne, founder and big beating heart of Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House for 30 years.
Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House provides all kinds of emergency relief services for their region and surrounds. With the help of over 100 VOLUNTEERS, they pack up and deliver food hampers, pre-cooked meals, clothes and bedding to anyone who needs it, all free of charge. Meanwhile, their bush nurses drive out to even smaller towns, quietly dropping off home-cooked meals and hampers, and popping their heads into homes to make sure everyone is okay. These towns are so small, Leanne tells us, that they almost can’t be called towns. Without infrastructure, they’re held up purely by their community – the nearest hospital is hours away. So, how can we close the distance between these homes and families who struggle to put their hand up for help? With food, of course!
In these rural communities, food is a passport into the home; a chance to check in on the lives of people who really need it. Leanne, her unstoppable team of volunteers at Bairnsdale Neighbourhood House, and Foodbank make that possible. And the driving force behind it all isYOUR generosity.
55 MILLION reasons why…
Picture this. We’re in East Gippsland, where dozens of kids are waking up, raring to go, getting ready for their school day at Eagle Point Primary. They rush into the school kitchen, where mums and dads, nans and pops, and kids of all ages are grabbing their volunteer badges, excitedly preparing for their School Brekky Club for the day. Later, the kids head to class with full bellies, wide awake and ready to learn all kinds of brilliant things.
This is just ONE example of 1,200 VICTORIAN SCHOOLS doing the very same thing. Every single morning, every single day, all thanks to our School Breakfast Clubs Program in partnership with Vic Government. Every school puts their own spin on School Brekky Club, but one fact rings true for every one of them. They’ve all contributed to the awesome milestone we reached this year: 55 MILLION MEALS served up to school kids right across Victoria since 2016. An effort we’re SO proud of, that would never have been possible if it wasn’t for the staff, students, and volunteers that roll up their sleeves to make it happen, right across Victoria!
GOLDEN OLDIES
What do Clint Eastwood, Scotch Tape and Foodbank Victoria have in common?
Believe it or not, we’re all turning 95 this year!
REGULAR GIVING: A 24/7
kind of love
Wanna face your fears for Foodbank?
Ever thought about fundraising for Foodbank? Maybe you’d do something you love, like hosting a movie night. Or – if you’re anything like our friend Lynton –maybe you want to try something you’re afraid of.
This year, Lynton’s put up his hand to run not one, but TEN marathons for Foodbank.
Yep, it’s true. Our work here at Foodbank Victoria dates all the way back to 1930, when we first started lending a hand to Victorians hit hard by the Great Depression.
We’re so grateful to still be here feeding people who need us to this day, right across the state. Without your support, we wouldn’t be a golden oldie like Clint.
NOURISH COLLECTIVE is our awesome community of regular givers who donate once a month, every month, all to keep our shelves stocked and healthy. With their reliable support we can show up for Victorians who need us, day in, day out.
As one regular giver told us, WE’RE VERY HAPPY AND PROUD
1,000,000 MEALS. Don’t worry, no need to whip out your origami skills. Our friends at Encore Tissue are helping make the magic happen.
Pick up a pack of Foodbank Toilet Paper, available exclusively at a Woolworths near you. Every pack purchased keeps the good times ‘rolling’ – feeding people right across Australia.
Whether you want to face your fears like Lynton, or try something a little easier (hey, we won’t judge), we’d love YOU to do it for Foodbank. Scan here to start fundraising, your way.
