Food Hub targets Food Insecurity

Posted on Sep 08, 2019

"FOODBANK" FOOD HUB - Murray Bridge

Hunger hides in every community. That's why Rotary Clubs support programs to provide healthy food and develop sustainable solutions to food insecurity. Fighting hunger build stronger communities - That's what people of Action do!

In 2018 the Rrotary Club Mobilong assisted by grant funds from the Rotary Foundation, funded kitchen equipment to support the breakfast club program at the Murray Bridge North School. This project afforded us greater insight into the reality of food insecurity within our community.
Later that year Rotarian Wendy Gaborit attended a networking lunch and was inspired by Foodbank CEO Greg Pattinson's presentation and commenced a conversation to scope community need and the project requirements with view to delivering a Food Hub in Murray Bridge servicing the communities of Murray Bride, Mannum, Tailem Bend and the Murray Mallee.
But projects such as this require partnerships and community support.
The Goal to raise $50,000 these funds to be matched by Foodbank and the funds used to create the hub and finance its first year of operation, thereafter the project is self sustainable.

Determining Need: 2018-19 Food Bank via the hub in Berri delivered 39 tonne of food and groceries front line services, schools and families to Murray Bridge and surrounding communities. (9K up on the previous year) Distributed a further 10 tonne of fresh fruit and vegetables free of charge. The equivalent of 78,000 meals with an estimated supermarket value of $214,000. Foodbank provided 5 tonne of school breakfast foods and supported 9 schools in the Murray Bridge region.

FOODBANK is Australia’s largest food relief organisation, operating on a scale that makes it crucial to the work of the front line charities that are feeding vulnerable Australians. Foodbank provides 77 million meals a year (210,000 meals a day) to more than 2,600 charities around the country, accounting for 79% of all food received by charities from food rescue organisation.

Foodbank is also the largest supporter of school breakfast programs in Australia, providing food for 2,000 schools nationally (both directly and via programs run by other organisations). Foodbank provides regular breakfasts to more than 132,000 students at schools around the country and on top of this, more than 200,000 children seek food relief from our charities every month.