The Juicy Juice: Spring ’24
A hugehearted effort.
In the past 12 months, our community helped put 25 MILLION MEALS ON THE TABLE for families where and when they needed it most.
Take a look inside...
Who doesn’t love a heartmelting moment?
From frosty mornings in Fed Square to bone chilling rains in the Central Highlands, our Farms to Families markets and mobile supermarkets popped up all over the state, each week, right across Winter - no matter what the weather threw at us. All thanks to everyone who gave so generously to our WINTER APPEAL including our marvellous Matched Giving donors and regular givers.
That’s thousands and thousands of YOU helping remove the ‘NOT’ in the stomachs of 65,000 VICTORIANS A DAY who rely on Foodbank. You’re creating warm smiles and sending a message of ‘Hey, we’ve got your back’ with all that fresh, beautiful veg and fruit we pack into boots, bags and baskets.
A really messy food fight. Making a really big difference.
Heard about Food Fight? The fundraiser taking place across Victoria, asking schools and students to put their hands up to fundraise for Foodbank?
Yep, you heard that right. In exchange for an afternoon of flinging fake food and having buckets full of fun, students can raise much-needed funds for Foodbank.
Do you know a school that would be up for piffing stuff to help feed people? Well, tell them to sign up!
HUGE THANKS TO THOSE 100 SCHOOLS WHO’VE ALREADY RAISED 1 MILLION MEALS
Meet one of the youngest members of our regular giving community the Nourish Collective – Elena, who is proof that you can do amazing things for your community at any age.
At just 10 years old, Elena decided to sign herself up to our regular giving program (with her parent’s approval, of course) and now generously donates some of her savings each month to help the 65,000 PEOPLE we’re feeding each and every day. And she’s inspired her younger sisters to do the same!
“I love donating to Foodbank knowing it helps families have food,” she said. And we love Elena too!
And just like that.
You helped us, help Rebekah. She’s the heartbeat of her growing family; always happy to stop and have a friendly chat and share her grandmother’s deliciously rustic recipes. The epitome of so many mums we meet, all trying to make miracles happen when hope is scarce.
Rebekah
With four children to feed and take care of, the youngest just six months old, to say she has her hands full is, well, an understatement. Things are a little easier now that Rebekah can access a regular and reliable source of fresh, healthy food thanks to the incredible support of Victorians like YOU through our Winter Appeal. We’re so glad you can help us be there for all the ‘Rebekah’s. WITHOUT THEM, OUR COMMUNITIES CAN’T THRIVE.
Stats that stick out.
OUR FOOD HAS TRAVELLED OVER 3.3 MILLION KILOMETRES
(That’s Melbourne to London by plane, 195 times!)
EVERY 1.5 SECONDS WE PROVIDE A MEAL TO SOMEONE WHO NEEDS IT
In the past 12thanksmonths… to YOU!
(Take a deep yoga breath - that’s your 1.5 seconds)
OVER 13.9 MILLION KILOS OF FOOD WENT OUT TO OUR COMMUNITY
(Picture 1,743 of our trucks parked end to end, and fully loaded)
She definitely eats all her veggies.
Katie looks after the food at Foodbank. It’s a big job for her and her hardworking team – not just sourcing 65,000 MEALS A DAY, but making sure all that food is healthy and perfectly edible.
“Right now, we’re distributing more food than ever before and we’re seeing demand like never before: it’s a perfect storm! Food is more expensive to produce, and labour costs have increased, so it’s harder for our friends in the food industry, who have less to donate. When we have consistent funds coming in thanks to the generosity of donors and regular givers, we’re able to offset the cost of their labour and logistics which allows us to feed more Victorians. But even with extra funds we still can’t keep up with demand, which is why we were so grateful to EVERYONE who took part in our Emergency Food Drive in August - helping us fill all those empty shelves.”
Much faster food.
Did you know that Foodbank Victoria dates all the way back to the 1930s? Boy, have we come a long way since then! Did we ever deliver food in Flintstone cars? No, we’re not quite that old… but we have made some big improvements along the way.
Until recently, our fresh fruit and veggie deliveries rolled up to our warehouse doors in bins. Our volunteers would sort produce out of those bins into smaller boxes for distribution. Now, we have a brand-new packing line that makes this process not X1, not X2, but X9 TIMES FASTER
A massive thank you to the Phil Taylor Foundation for donating this machine and helping us get more food out to where it needs to be!
Some pretty spectacular spatulas.
Last year, we gave celebrities the challenge of designing their very own spatulas to raise funds for Foodbank. Now, it’s officially time for round two… and guess who’s stepped up to the plate this year? Pick up a piece of art to keep in your kitchen at home, with designs created by Foodbank ambassadors Hamish Blake and Chrissie Swan, plus Sophie Monk, Adam Liaw, Glenn Robbins, and legendary Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight. AVAILABLE FROM
WOO-HOO!
You probably heard the cheers all through regional Victoria, as we officially opened our Community Food Centres in both Ballarat and Morwell. Serving as a hub, or should we say ‘hug’, for local regional communities built in partnership with Vic Government.
With your support, these centres mean that fresh, chilled and frozen food no longer needs to be trucked in from Foodbank’s Yarraville warehouse, so local charities can directly access the healthy, nutritious food they need. Exciting times ahead…
Dippity doo da.
Longer days, birds chirping, flowers blooming, and green everywhere we look. Inspiring, right? Enjoy this fresh
Your olympic sized generosity.
Our regular givers – a community we like to call our Nourish Collective – are nothing short of amazing. Lately, we’ve been relying on their help. More than ever before.
Just like the prices rising on your local supermarket shelves, it’s becoming more and more expensive to source the food we need. All while demand continues to grow and grow. Which is why we need donations that we can count on, each and every month. Providing the funds we need to nourish the 65,000 PEOPLE WE’RE FEEDING, DAY IN, DAY OUT.
Pretty awesome generosity, right? We think so too. If you’d like to join our Nourish Collective, SCAN THIS CODE.
Spring recipe from our Cooking Class team that is green, light and kindergarten level easy!
Spring Pea Dip
Ingredients
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cups frozen peas
• 2 avocados
Method
• lemon, juiced
• 200g feta
• 1 cup mint
Cover peas with boiling water and allow them to warm up. Then strain.
In a food processor, add the peas, avocado, mint, dill, feta and lemon juice. Pulse until smooth.
Serve with carrot sticks or on crusty bread with a sprinkle of Sumac, and black pepper.