Foodbank WA Annual Impact Report 2024
Jane never thought she’d need Foodbank until she did.
Jane is a wife and mother of four. She and her family had a great life with double income and enough money to support their family. Jane was working in environmental science running a company employing engineers and chemists. Then her life flipped upside down.
Find out how we helped Jane and her family.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
They managed for a while, dipping into their savings until life again changed in an instant. 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.”
For a long time, Jane didn’t ask for help and it just got worse. The bills were piling up until she was in debt and saw a financial counsellor who told her about Foodbank.
For Jane, she came to Foodbank to make sure she has enough food for her children.
“I never thought I would be in this situation”.
“Reaching out can be the hardest thing to do. At first, I felt embarrassed, it was really hard to accept. But now I try to talk to new people, let them know it’s ok.”
Every day we help families, just like Jane’s.
Close panel
9,220,604
meals provided to Western Australians
5,117,435
kilos distributed
6,577
nutrition education attendances
129,314
volunteer hours
471
charity partners
560
schools engaged
We provided 9.2 million meals to Western Australians this year. The cost-of-living crisis continues to drive demand for food relief.
Chair and CEO Report
How we delivered on our purpose to feed, educate and advocate.In 2024, we achieved a 30-year milestone, reflecting on the journey of Foodbank WA and the path ahead. Our reflection provided many reasons to be grateful for the role we play today as an organisation woven into the support available to Western Australians facing significant challenges. Many have played a part in our story.
Looking ahead we are remaining steadfast in our commitment to fulfilling our purpose: Feed. Educate. Advocate. we launched our new Strategic Plan 2024-2027 and vision Healthy food for all. It’s a basic human right.
To ensure our future success and with consideration of our changing market, we refreshed our Strategic Pathways of people in need; sustainability; culture and safety.
People in need
Demand for food relief continued to surge as the cost-of-living and housing crises showed no signs of letting up. Our commitment to addressing the demand was stronger than ever. This year we further expanded our Mobile Foodbank network and launched our Everyday Food Essentials range to ensure we always had pantry staples available. We worked across the food supply chain network and ensured the quality and dignity of our customer experience.
We launched our nutrition education programs under one unified brand, nom! and continued to explore partnerships and markets where we can extend our reach and empower more people through evidence-based nutrition education.
Sustainability
We are incredible grateful for our corporate partners and the unwavering support from our community. Thanks to your generosity, our financial foundation is strong and sustainable.
These resources are invested into our operations and infrastructure to ensure we are not just here for today, but long into the future. We continued to embed excellence and sustainable growth into every part of our organisation. We placed surplus funds into our Foodbank WA Long Term Impact Fund to ensure we can sustain our food relief, nutrition education and unbudgeted major operations expenditure.
Culture and safety
The safety of our staff and volunteers is always at the forefront. This year, we implemented a WHS system, developed videos for our safe work instructions and corporate volunteer induction, and rolled out additional training. Our culture remained strong as we continued to meet the growing demand, with ongoing staff workshops to embed our Strategic Plan and the behaviours that live behind our values.
Thank you
We thank Board Director Vanessa Torres for her service and dedication. We welcomed Steve Harris and Nick Yeo as Board Directors.
And, of course, a heartfelt thank you to our dedicated Board, committees, leadership team, staff and corporate and individual volunteers. Your adaptability, unwavering commitment and boundless compassion are what allow us to navigate the ever-changing landscape and serve our community with respect and integrity.
Derek La Ferla, Chair
and Kate O’Hara, CEO
Close panel
We are Foodbank WA and this is our story…
Redistributing
good food to feed
Western Australians
We secured perfectly good food and gave it to people going without.
Read how we have perfected the art of saving good food.Our commitment to rescuing surplus or imperfect produce and redirecting it to those in need, saw us work closely with our network of suppliers (farmers, fresh producers, retailers and manufacturers). Instead of letting perfectly good food end up in landfill, we made sure it went to people who need it most.
We are thankful for our donors who provided much needed food to us.
There has also been great support from national partners that have been able to provide reduced cost products so we could create our Everyday Food Essentials program. This has been a major step forward to assist in us achieving our vision and ensuring we can provide a minimum, stable range of staples.
When it comes to the food we provide, nutrition is our top priority. Over two-thirds of our donations were fresh produce and staples, 15% chilled items and 7% frozen goods. Sweets were less than 2% as we focused on delivering balanced and nutritious meals.
But it is more than food. Thanks to our generous donors we offered a range of other grocery items including nappies, pet food, cleaning and personal hygiene products.
New funding to purchase protein
Thank you to the Department of Communities for funding a sustainable protein supply program. As Western Australia faced a protein shortage this program allowed us to start low-bono partnerships with local beef, lamb, poultry and fish producers to purchase much needed protein.
The art of saving perfectly good food
Every year, millions of tonnes of food are wasted. But thanks to our great partnerships with amazing donors such as growers, supermarkets and the wonderful people at Perth Markets, we rescued food that might otherwise be wasted. Those “funny-looking” tomatoes or “too-small” avocados – food that’s perfectly good but not quite supermarket shelf-worthy.
This is how we got meals to those who need it most.
From farm to table
Ever wondered how fresh fruits and veggies made its way to Foodbank? The operation is bigger than you think. It is quite the logistics to source, collect and distribute food donations.
Go behind the scenes to see how we work.
AngloGold Ashanti and Compass delivered fresh food
diverted by the floods
In March 2024, massive flooding closed off roads to communities and mines out of Kalgoorlie impacting food deliveries. A Compass Group ESS supply full of fresh produce, milk and groceries was unable to make it to its destination – AngloGold Ashanti’s mine. Rather than see this great food go to waste the Miner instead diverted the ESS truck full of provisions to Foodbank Kalgoorlie.
Read how AngloGold Ashanti got creative when floods closed outback roads.
A special thanks to our major food donors
We are grateful to our local and national food donors who committed to reducing hunger and food waste and donated their surplus stock to us.
- A & D Guadagnino
- Aldi
- Agri-Fresh
- Bega
- Beta Spuds
- Brookrise
- Coles
- Castro Farms
- Craig Mostyn Group
- Dardanup Butchering Company
- Fresh West
- Galati Bros
- Goodman Fielder
- Hilton Foods
- Hello Fresh
Close panel
Feeding Western Australians
Helping get food to those who need it is at the core of what we do.
Read how we get food to those who need it most
While we provide food and essentials to those who need it, it’s not all we do. Because food is more than a necessity. It has the power to bring us together. To keep us going. To fuel the bright minds of tomorrow. To show we care.
Every day we help people like Beverley.
Beverley, a mum of three, knows what it’s like to struggle to make ends meet. She cycles to our Mobile Foodbank in Rockingham each week to purchase essential groceries for her family. With young children to feed, Beverley is determined to provide her children with healthy, nutritious food.
Reaching regional communities
Our branches in Peel, Bunbury, Albany, Kalgoorlie and Geraldton are the heart of our mission in these communities. Our regional branches distributed 4,759,726 meals, 52% of our total meals. All of this was made possible by working closely with our 471 charity partners.
In Bunbury, we celebrated 20 years of providing food relief to the South West region.
Thank you to our branch partners Alcoa of Australia (Peel), South32, Talison Lithium, ATCO (Bunbury), Northern Star Resources Ltd (Kalgoorlie) and Illuka Resources (Geraldton). Your support was invaluable in helping streamline operations, increase meal distribution and expand our regional Mobile Foodbanks.
Thank you to the partners that helped us reach regional and remote communities in Western Australia. Arc Infrastructure supported essential hampers and nutrition education sessions in the Wheatbelt. Southern Ports supported essential hampers to Albany, Bunbury and Esperance. Talison Lithium increased their support for South West schools to access fresh fruit, bread and dairy and our Bunbury Mobile Foodbank.
Mobile Foodbank
Acknowledging that transport can be a barrier for some, our Mobile Foodbank expanded to visit 76 charity partners to help individuals who can’t make it to one of our six branches.
A whopping 846,635 meals were distributed through our Mobile Foodbank. We partnered with some of our regional communities including Leonora, Wyalkatchem, Katanning, Northampton and Waroona.
Read how not all heroes wear capes. Ours is purple and has four wheels.
Launched our Everyday Food Essentials
In an exciting first, our Everyday Food Essentials initiative launched, providing a consistent and dependable supply of pantry staples, separate from donated goods. By purchasing products, we ensured our shelves were always stocked with essential items for our customers. From baked beans to breakfast cereal, food basics were always available at affordable prices.
Community Kitchen
Our Community Kitchen chef is the master of the mystery box challenge. Armed with donated food, he transformed rescued ingredients into delicious meals. Every week, together with volunteers, he used donated ingredients to create affordable and nutritious ready-to-eat fresh and frozen meals.
This year they cooked up a whopping 82,742 meals – our biggest year yet and 20,000 more than last year. We maintained a great variety of 6,000- 8,000 meals in our freezer. Some of the delicious and healthy creations included crumbed lamb cutlets and vegetables, spinach and ricotta ravioli, pork ribs, cottage pie, tandoori chicken and pizzas.
Feeding hungry tummies with the School Breakfast Program
Our School Breakfast Program gave growing bodies and curious minds the fuel they needed. This year we supported 560 schools to provide breakfast to approximately 25,600 students every week.
Our annual Volunteer Awards encouraged schools to recognise the unsung heroes behind their breakfast clubs. 130 schools nominated 178 school staff, students, parents, community members and organisations, highlighting the collective effort that goes into ensuring every child starts their day right.
Thank you to the Departments of Education and Primary Industries and Regional Development as well as Telethon, Lactalis, Perth Markets Group Limited and Talison Lithium for the support of our School Breakfast Program.
“It’s a really good program for us. … it contributes to the fabric of our school, helps us become calm and consistent, and all those sorts of things. It’s a really worthy thing… it’s something that’s really needed in this part of the world. We wouldn’t survive without it in lots of ways. It would just make life 20% more complicated, straight up.”
Read how our Ambassador Alice Murray volunteered at one of the schools.
Delivering fresh fruit with the Perth Airport School Fruit Van
The Perth Airport School Fruit Van program delivered 26,200 kilos of fresh fruit in 10 kilo boxes each week to 75 schools.
Thank you to Perth Airport and Stan Perron Charitable Foundation for their support as well as local growers and Perth Markets for the fresh fruit. A special thank you to Stan Perron Charitable Foundation and New Town Toyota for the new School Fruit Van.
Meet Bert, our driver for the past 10 years.
Strengthening communities through charity partnerships
Hunger is just one part of our customers stories. When they turn to us for help, they’re often grappling with compounding challenges. That’s where our incredible charity partners come in.
This year we launched a new initiative in collaboration with the Financial Collective Wellbeing for financial counsellors to be on site at our Perth, Peel and Bunbury branches to support our customers.
Learn about how we work with other charities.
Responding to emergencies
In times of a natural disaster like bushfires, floods or cyclones, worrying about where your next meal will come from is the last thing anyone should have to do. That’s why we’re always prepared to distribute emergency relief hampers to those who need them most.
This year, we partnered with Northern Star and four charities to support the Kalgoorlie Summer Response Strategy to deliver food and comfort to those in Kalgoorlie and surrounds who needed it most.
Close panel
Educating Western Australians
We’re on a mission to empower people with the knowledge and skills to improve their health through nutrition education.
Find out how our nom! programs are changing lives.
Our nom! nutrition education and cooking programs, led by qualified nutritionists and dietitians, are all about building evidence-based, long-lasting healthy habits.
This year, we consolidated our programs under one dedicated brand, nom! We launched with a direct mail chickpea can with never-ending recipe ideas campaign.
A day in the life of a public health nutritionist
A public health nutritionist’s role is a dynamic blend of education, community engagement and hands-on involvement. Our nutritionists empowered communities with the knowledge and skills to make healthier food choices.
Meet Laura.
Teaching school students how to make healthy food choices
Our nom! Schools program aims to improve the knowledge, confidence, and skills of students to support healthy eating. Students learnt about the five core food groups and their benefits, food safety and sustainability, and gained hands-on food preparation skills with their peers. This year, 1,554 students from 74 classrooms participated in our program
“I found the entire program so engaging and really informed my class about the value of knowing about food nutrition. They thoroughly enjoyed participating in the program. It was informative and engaging and I liked the way that the team not only delivered the information but then provided an engaging, hands-on activity. The students loved the cooking aspect and gave them the life skill of cleaning up. It was lovely to see them all try new foods they would not normally eat. I have had parents come in and compliment the program.”
10 years of Superhero Foods®
For a decade, our Superhero Foods initiative has empowered students and children by transforming nutrition education. What started as a simple idea incorporating fun nutrition messaging onto breakfast placemats grew into an expansive range of interactive nutrition resources that make learning about nutrition and cooking engaging and enjoyable. Our revamped Superhero Foods HQ website provided easy access to our nutrition education resources.
Vital nutrition sessions for parents with young children
A healthy diet during childhood provides children with an optimal opportunity for growth and development. The first five years of our children’s lives are vital for developing healthy eating habits. Our nom! Children (formerly Food Sensations® for Children) evidence-based program guided parents to plan, prepare and cook healthy meals for the whole family on a budget.
We delivered 49 programs to 459 participants, making a positive impact on 900 children. We partnered with 25 community organisations across Perth, Mid-West, Peel and the South-West to reach a diverse range of families, including Aboriginal people and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse people.
“Thank you for an amazing program – now I’m cooking healthy meals for my family, making better food choices and me and my husband are eating better! Thank you so much!”
Thank you to Telethon for the support of nom! Children.
Empowering healthy food choices for people with disability
Our Healthy Food for All Abilities food literacy program supported people with disability, and their support workers, to identify, choose, prepare, and cook healthy food. Participants improved their knowledge, confidence, and skills to support them to eat healthier and increase their independence.
We delivered 57 programs to 748 individual participants and their carers until the end of our funding in December 2023.
“My favourite part of the program was having the knowledge about the food groups and serve sizes as well. Making all the dishes in a group was the most enjoyable activity”
Thank you to the Department of Communities for the two-year support of this pilot program.
nom! programs delivered across Western Australia
This year extended the reach of our nom! programs across Western Australia working in collaboration with local governments, corporate and not-for-profit partners. From Geraldton to Esperance, Perth to Kalgoorlie, we delivered 138 sessions to 1,767 participants.
In particular at our The Healthy Eating Hub in Fremantle we delivered 132 nutrition education sessions and empowered 1,024 participants with practical nutrition knowledge and skills including healthy eating and shopping on a budget.
“This program combines knowledge and practical experience. You learn so much that can help in everyday life – nutrition, food safe handling, budgeting, portion control. And the program is fun – You cook and enjoy sharing with the group. The recipe books are a wonderful addition.“
Thank you to Hawaiian for the support of our Fremantle Healthy Eating Hub and Northern Star Resources and Arc Infrastructure for support of our programs in the Goldfields and Wheatbelt.
Close panel
Advocating for Western Australians experiencing food insecurity
As the cost-of-living continued to rise, we played an important role by sharing the reality of food insecurity in Western Australia.
Learn how we strive to normalise asking for help.As the cost-of-living crisis continued to rise, many Western Australians sought assistance for the first time. We understand it can be a bit overwhelming, so we shared stories of our customers like Rose and Leah to help others ask for help.
But we don’t stop there. Advocating on behalf of people in need, we shared our observations of the frontline on TV, radio and print media equating to $4 million in free media coverage.
Our partnership with Business News and 16 sector partners kept the spotlight on the incredible work of not-for-profits, drawing the corporate world’s attention to the scale and scope of the sector.
Foodbank is now ranked the nineth most trusted charity nationally, with a 90.5 reputation score. In Western Australia we ranked even higher with a reputation score of 92.7.
Foodbank Hunger Report 2023
How many households going without is too many? The 2023 Foodbank Hunger Report explored what hunger looked like across the country and here in Western Australia against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis.
Foodbank Pet Hunger Report 2024
Nearly a quarter of struggling pet owners in Western Australia were going hungry to feed their beloved companions. The Foodbank Pet Hunger Report 2024 highlighted how no one should have to choose between food or their furry friend.
Our Patrons
Our Ambassadors
Thank you to our ambassadors who supported and promoted our impact through their network and communities.
Kerri Buurman, Vitality Finance
Kerri Buurman, Vitality Finance
Kerri has supported Foodbank for over 15 years. In her role as an ambassador, Kerri is excited to amplify her impact, focusing on feeding change and reducing food waste throughout Western Australia.
Close panel
United in our passion
Our corporate partners, volunteers and staff are the driving force behind our mission.
The amazing people behind Foodbank WA
Meet Ray
This year we celebrated 20 years of Foodbank in Bunbury, and Ray has been there for all of them.
Ray, the driving force behind our School Breakfast Program in the South-West, coordinated breakfast for an impressive 63 schools.
Reflecting on his journey, Ray shared, “I thought when I retired I’d sit home all day and do nothing, but that just doesn’t work. You have to get out amongst the community; otherwise, you become a couch potato.”
Our volunteers
Volunteers are the heart and soul of our mission. Each day, they generously dedicated their time and energy to help those doing it tough, always while wearing a huge smile.
During National Volunteer Week, we celebrated and acknowledged the invaluable contributions of our volunteers. Thank you to Herbert Smith Freehills and Dôme Cafes for their support of these events.
We thank and acknowledge our corporate volunteers and their companies for their time with us every week. They packed hampers, cooked meals and participated in our Mega Meals, Takeover Days and Meals with Purpose challenges.
This year we acknowledge our dedicated and long-standing volunteers who achieved service milestones – 10 years for Kim Figgins, Bruce Pearce, Sarah Wright, Lois Grist, Lisa Pesce, Alan French, Erica Summerville, Jacqueline Vose and 20 years for Dennis Evans and Ray Jordan.
Sadly, this year we said goodbye to one of our Peel volunteers who had been part of our family for 11 years. Polly had an infectious smile and even through illness, her spirit remained bright, volunteering whenever she could. Polly’s kindness and compassion left a lasting impact on everyone who knew her. We are forever grateful for her time and the love she shared with the Foodbank family.
Thank you. We couldn’t do what we do without you.
Our people
We are a diverse and professional organisation employing staff across Western Australia. We thanked and recognised our longstanding staff members who received service milestones this year – 10 years for Zak MacDonald, Leonie Jane, Rod Pfeiffer, Jamie O’Brien, Glenn Sudholz, Sharon Randell, Bert Smith and 15 years for Miranda Chester and Belinda Gallagher.
We’re dedicated to the professional growth of our staff, equipping them with the skills and passion needed to fulfill our mission. Training ensured we remained up to date with technology and changes to the legal and regulatory environment. Our people participated in more than 50 days of professional development.
We strengthened our commitment to mental health and wellbeing with the introduction of a staff wellbeing allowance, mental health focus on our team day and the introduction of our own mental wellbeing platform featuring podcasts, exercises and mindfulness routines. The platform was also made available for our volunteers and family members.
Our quarterly staff pulse checks surveyed staff on important issues like safety, diversity and psychological safety. The survey included happiness at work, and we achieved an average happiness score of 8.2/10.
Thank you to our Board of Directors for their strategic guidance and governance throughout the year.
Thank you to our leadership team for their passion, commitment and dedication to meeting our purpose.
A strong focus on safety and wellbeing
It’s easy to say we care about the safety and wellbeing of our staff and volunteers, but we’re committed to delivering it. And we want to make it easy for our people to be safe.
This year we launched our online safety reporting system to record and track incidents and more importantly, lead safety indicators like hazards and assurance checks. Our team completed 2,991 assurance checks including pre-starts, temperature checks and safety walks.
We also developed videos for our safe work instructions and a corporate volunteers safety induction.
Uniting the community to support Western Australians
in need
We express our heartfelt gratitude to the Western Australian community and our generous corporate partners. A special shout-out to our Giving Pantry regular donors, whose monthly contributions are the backbone of our mission, making a lasting difference in the lives of those we serve.
Our community of supporters, both individuals and organisations, generously gave their time, energy and passion to promote the work we do and raised much needed funds and food.
Thank you to our sporting community partners Perth Glory, Peel Thunder FC (supported by Alcoa), and the West Coast Eagles (supported by McCusker Charitable Foundation) who each hosted charity rounds and collectively raised 292,000 meals.
Empty Bowls brought together beautifully crafted pottery bowls, delicious soup and bread to raise over 66,000 meals. Our Meal Makers of senior business leaders, Foodbank WA’s Chairman, ambassadors and influencers joined forces to raise 223,000 meals while being challenged with their culinary skills to cook on a budget.
We showcased our impact at Telethon Family Festival and NAIDOC week events where we provided attendees with essential food hampers with thanks to Mount Gibson.
Thank you to the Western Australian community for their generous support in helping us get food to those who need it most.
Close panel
Thank you to our corporate partners
Our corporate partners are vital in helping Foodbank WA get food to people who need it.
View our corporate partnersSociety Shapers
Community Builders
Life Changers
Dignity Partners
Pro Bono and Special Branch Partners
Close panel
Foodbank WA Financial Report for 2024
Click here to see the report.
Close panel