Foodbank Victoria is an independent not-for-profit organisation with more than 80 years’ food relief experience. They are the state’s oldest and largest organisation of their kind.
They believe every Victorian deserves healthy food, yet 1 in 10 Victorians don’t know where their next meal is coming from and 1 in 7 children go to school hungry.
Their aim is to provide healthy food for all.
Each month, they source and distribute food to 134,000 Victorians who rely on their food assistance – including 38,000 children.
They collect surplus food from across Victoria, weigh and sort it into orders, then distribute it to a network of over 900 community partners to feed hungry Victorians.
As a member of the State Government’s Emergency Response and Recovery Committee, they are also there in times of disaster as the leading provider of emergency food relief to Victorian communities.
In the 2015-16, they sourced and distributed 7.4 million kilograms of food from their Yarraville warehouse – a 5% increase from 2014-15.
In addition, they facilitated around 3 million kilograms of food through Community Foodshare partners in Dandenong, Shepparton, Warrnambool, Bendigo and Wodonga.
Combined, their total distribution is an impressive 10.4 million kilograms or the equivalent of over 18 million meals to Victorians facing food insecurity in both metropolitan and regional areas of the state.
Their vision of ‘healthy food for all’ can only be achieved if they focus their resources on sourcing and distributing food that is healthy and nutritious, while making the supply available to all Victorians in need.
They will find new ways to engage stakeholders in their work to expand their income sources. Through a deeper engagement with their donors, supporters and partners they will seek new opportunities to work together and underpin the future of their organisation.
They will use their knowledge and position as the largest and most experienced food relief agency in Victoria to advocate on behalf of those experiencing the injustice of food insecurity.
By celebrating diversity and investing in their staff and volunteers, they will build a culture that ensures their people are engaged, motivated, and equipped with the skills and capabilities to help them realise their goals.
