Foodbank Digest | 30 Years Feeding Change Across the State

Making a difference, one bite at a time 

Do you remember when you moved out of home? Were you living on 2-minute noodles?  

Well, our nom! Youth program is helping young adults learn more than how to boil water, it gives them the knowledge and skills to eat healthy on a budget and WOW in the kitchen! 

A recent collaboration between our Healthy Eating Hub, supported by Hawaiian, and Headspace Fremantle did just this – in a fun-filled, food-focused session for young people. 

Jane never thought she’d need Foodbank until she did  

Families right across Western Australia are feeling the cost-of-living pressure and are reaching out to us for help. It’s no longer just the interest rate rises we have had, it’s rent, fuel and the high grocery prices that are also impacting everyday West Aussies. 

Jane is one of them. She and her family had a great life with double income and enough money to support their family. Then her life flipped upside down.  

A car accident left her husband with life altering injuries and PTSD. He could no longer work and needed intensive care. They were down to one salary.  Then Jane needed surgery, but it didn’t go to plan. A staph infection left her with double vision and needing to learn how to walk again. She could no longer work.  

“It’s exhausting just functioning, people look at me and think I’m normal. Same as my husband, he looks normal. If you can’t see something wrong, they assume nothing is wrong.” 

Every day we help families, just like Jane’s.  

New funding to help us purchase protein 

We’re thrilled to announce that as part of the State Budget 2024, we secured funding from the Department of Communities to develop a new sustainable protein supply program.  

This funding comes at a critical time as Western Australia faces a protein shortage. This initiative will help bridge that gap by allowing us to partner with local beef, lamb, poultry and fish producers to purchase much needed protein for 12 months.  

Protein will be distributed through our network with cost recovery handling fees to ensure we can continue to sustainably purchase protein into the future after this initial once-off funding.  

Through this program, we’ll ensure a wider variety and more consistent supply of protein options for the families we support. This will make a significant difference in their ability to access healthy and nutritious meals.   

We extend a special thank you to Minister Winton for recognising the importance of protein in healthy diets and for their crucial support in securing this funding to support the development of our program. 

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Foodbank WA acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we work. We recognise their spiritual and cultural connection to country and we pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.