Art & Design

Foodbank Victoria’s Warm Up Winter Appeal

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Conspicuous consumption seems to be a part of the Australian way of life, as common as the Hills Hoist or a home in the suburbs. Every year an estimated five billion (billion?!) kilograms of food waste is thrown away by Australians, with three million kilograms of this ending up in landfill. At the same time there are roughly four hundred thousand people in Victoria alone that have no means of reliable access to safe food. Math was never my strong suit, but the discrepancy here is pretty clear.

In 2005 VicRelief Foodbank (now Foodbank Victoria) was founded to in an attempt to address this state of affairs. Since its inception the organisation has initiated partnerships with some of the biggest corporations in Australia to source and redistribute food that would otherwise be destined for landfill. This includes mislabeled and overrun stock that can’t be sold but is otherwise perfectly fit for consumption. The efforts of Foodbank Victoria have ensured that last year nearly three million kilograms of food with a retail value of twenty-eight millions dollars was redistributed to individuals in need. The group also runs community initiatives including breakfast programs for children in need and disaster relief programs in emergency events.

Their actions have made a direct impact on an otherwise largely ignored problem, and the organisation is growing exponentially. The time these volunteers and donors contribute is in a part a public acknowledgment of a problem that many would prefer to ignore, and that in itself is worth our collective respect.

Foodbank Victoria’s is now running it’s annual Warm Up Winter Appeal. To get involved as a donor or volunteer visit www.foodbankvictoria.org.au and register your interest.


Photo & Video

http://www.milkbarmag.com/2015/04/02/the-10th-whitelion-bail-out-charity-fundraiser/

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