Our food delivery boxes are breaking through state borders

We are beyond thrilled to announce that our Monthly Food Delivery Boxes will be available to residents in New South Wales including Sydney, Newcastle, The Central Coast, Wollongong and all the suburbs in-between!. We are taking orders from today and the first deliveries will head out after the 15th of October

Given every food box helps us to provide 50 meals to those in desperate need, you can see what an opportunity this presents to help alleviate hunger for the millions of Australians seeking food relief every year. 

For those not already familiar, we launched these monthly food delivery services throughout Victoria earlier this year and these have proven to be a major driver of change. 

How does it work? Short answer, you get 9kg of fresh seasonal produce, priced to match your standard grocery store shop, and delivered free of charge to your door once a month. And, let’s not forget – for every box purchased, 50 meals can be provided to struggling families, children, refugees, homeless and those falling on hard times. 

If you’re in New South Wales, here’s a link to how you can order yours. Victorian readers not yet taking up this service, we forgive you and here’s another link. If you’re located elsewhere, we’re doing pre-registrations to help inform our continued rollout. Jump on it and ORDER NOW!

Thousands of hard workers join the compost team at Briars farm

Well, the workers are actually worms but it’s exciting news nonetheless. 

Construction on our worm farm at Briars was completed, and the incredible team at Worm Lovers have given us thousands of worms to kickstart our composting efforts. With the help of these little guys, we expect to produce plenty of compost for our farm. It’s an incredible asset to help us continue to alleviate food insecurity by growing our own fresh produce. 

Since opening in late May, Briars has become the growing ground for various fruit, vegetable and herbs including – rosemary, rhubarb, silver beet and spring onions. 

We’re well on track to achieve our goal of providing more than 50,000 meals to local residents within the first year, doubling this for year two and aiming for more than a quarter of a million meals by year three. 

Briars will service vulnerable communities across the Southeastern region of Victoria which is home to higher levels of low-income households, unemployment, renters and single parents. As we know these categories are often at the most at risk of facing food insecurity, and it’s critical our services are available locally as a safe place people can turn to. 

The importance of giving in a time of need

Lockdowns are tough. It puts an unimagined squeeze on the income of so many, small businesses, job security and general income all taking a big hit. 

During these times, we see a surge in the number of people seeking food relief with Food For Change. While many are just getting by – keeping the roof above their head, and the power on – it’s putting food on the table that can be the breaking point. 

And it’s more prevalent than many might think. Every year it is estimated that 3.6 million Australians will seek food relief from an organisation like ours, and during times like these our services are definitely in high demand.  However, it also means that it’s also a tough time for people to give, and not all types of giving can work for everyone in the same way so we’d appreciate your support in a way that doesn’t overstretch your own resources. You can read our round up of alternative support options here.

Waste not, want not: creative ways to repurpose not-so-fresh food

There’s probably not a person in the nation who hasn’t faced the dilemma of not eating all the fresh produce we’ve purchased by the end of the week. And probably why the average Australian throws away 300 kilograms of food each, every year. 

Food wastage is not only an issue for the environment, but fighting food wastage can also help fight food insecurity. So how can we, as individuals, do more at home to lessen waste by stopping ripe food turning rotten. Click Here to learn a few tips and tricks from Food For Change’s team of fresh food lovers. 

Amir Manoly & Mister Collective

We are very excited to have former Master Chef contestant Amir Manoly join the team and start providing recipes for our Fresh Food Box Subscribers! Amir has kicked of with two delicious recipes for us! First a mouth watering Whole Orange Cake! Recipe Here.

For more info on Amir and his work at Mister collective make sure you visit the website: https://www.mistercollective.com