Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
fuelissue 7: March 2011
Feeding the charities that feed Australia
Dairy Industry commits to providing much needed milk
Snack Brands comes on board
Montague to provide apples and pears
The milk of human kindness flows
Vote of confidence from Snack Brands Australia
Update from the CEO
Providing for the victims of the natural disasters in both Queensland and Victoria continues to be our focus as the year progresses. This will remain the case long after the news cameras and microphones have moved on to the next story.
We know that the devastation caused by the floods and cyclone does not stop with the cleanup operations. Of course, it is critical to deal with the priorities, including securing property and keeping families safe. But, in addition to those who have lost their homes and possessions, there are many who were not directly affected by water or wind but who were struggling even before the events of the last two months. They have now been tipped over the edge due to loss of income from the general disruption to business. Unfortunately the impact of the tragedy has spread through most of Queensland with many businesses having been forced to close and therefore many people unable to get to work. The personal and social hardship caused by the floods and cyclone cannot be overestimated.
This ‘second wave’ of people affected will need help for many months to come as they work to get back on their feet. Foodbank will be there for the long haul assisting the charities who provide the practical day-to-day assistance they need.
Of course, all this would not be possible without our food industry partners. We continue to be humbled by the ongoing generosity of the food and grocery companies which are helping us with essential supplies. To date, the commitments have totalled 1,500 pallet loads of product valued at over $5.5 million. Further assistance has been provided by Toll and others in the form of warehousing and trucking. In addition companies have sent teams of staff volunteers to help out in Foodbank warehouses around the country.
The food and grocery items have been flowing into Foodbank warehouses around the country in staggered deliveries to ensure a manageable supply of product for distribution. From cereal, bread, UHT milk and canned meals to shampoo and toilet rolls, the donations have been targeted and spot on in meeting the need.
Foodbank CEO, John Webster
The Australian Dairy Industry has committed to help Foodbank source the two million litres of milk it needs annually in a break-through which will greatly en-hance Foodbank’s provision of staple foods. This is the first time an entire industry has come to-gether to collaborate on assisting Foodbank and its generous sup-port will ensure daily supply of milk to the 2,900 welfare agen-cies that rely on us.
Foodbank’s primary source of supply has been the rescue of ed-ible but unsaleable food for distribution to the welfare agencies that it supports. However, supply doesn’t al-ways meet demand – in particular there is a significant gap between the amount of staple foods rescued and what is needed by the welfare agencies to provide fill-ing and nutritious meals. So, Foodbank partners with food companies which donate ingredients and services to produce, process, package and transport essential items such as breakfast cereal, pasta, pasta sauce and canned meals.
Milk is one of the key staples much sought after by welfare agencies and despite some very generous do-nations in the past, Foodbank has never had enough to meet demand. What has been missing is a consistent and guaranteed supply.
In recent times, Foodbank has significantly increased its ability to handle fresh food. Maintaining the cold chain and guaranteeing product integrity were para-mount concerns. This meant adding increased cold storage space in our warehouses as well as putting in place food safety plans and training staff and volun-teers in appropriate cold chain procedures.
So, with our new capability, Foodbank approached our long-term donors for advice and support in creat-
ing and implementing an ongoing supply of milk. Two major supporters, National Foods and Fonterra, have taken the lead in developing an industry-wide strategy.
At a recent Gardiner Foundation Dairy Industry Lead-ers meeting, all of the major producers and manufac-turers agreed to support a broad industry approach to making it happen. Present at this meeting, along with National Foods and Fonterra, were Bega Cheese, Tatura Milk Industries, Parmalat, Murray Goulburn Co-operative, Warrnambool Cheese & Butter, Dairy Aus-tralia, the Gardiner Foundation, the Australian Dairy Industry Council, the Australian Dairy Products Federation and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries.
According to CEO of Fonterra and Foodbank Director, John Doumani, “The Australian Dairy Industry has re-ally come up trumps. The desire to assist Foodbank was unanimous and the industry is strongly commit-ted to coming up with a model for the sake of those in need.”
The key partners are now working through the details and it is anticipated that a milk supply dedicated to Foodbank will be flowing soon.
Snack Brands Australia, a young 100% Australian-owned company and one of the largest suppliers of snack foods in the country, has become the latest food manufacturer to formally join Foodbank in the fight against hunger.
Snack Brands is the relatively new owner of highly rec-ognisable brands such as CCs, Cheezels, French Fries, Kettle, Thins and Samboy which have been firm fa-vourites with Australians for many years.
Snack Brands has been supplying product to Foodbank on an ad-hoc basis in the past but has now signed a National Donor Agreement, undertaking to make Foodbank part of its ongoing waste management solu-
tion and capture all products that may otherwise go to landfill. This will likely include slow moving and excess stock as well as deleted lines and ex promotional stock.
According to Tom Mayson, Brand Manager at Snack Brands “Although our products are well-established, Snack Brands itself is a new company so we are build-ing things from the ground up. Formalising the rela-tionship with Foodbank is one of our first initiatives in the area of corporate social responsibility and re-flects the confidence we have in Foodbank as an or-ganisation.”
Tom said Snack Brands would also be exploring other ways in which the company might engage with Food-bank going forward.
FOODOMEtEr
13,205,358 kg (Actual)
16,000,000 kg (February target)
24,000,000 kg (2010/11 target)
Thanks to the Foodbank Queensland team
Looking back on a big year
Acknowledgement must go to the irrepressible team at Foodbank Queensland. In spite of a re-cord December, when the floods struck in Janu-ary the staff and volunteers immediately threw themselves into what they do best – getting food out to those in need. When the flood threat to their own premises in Brisbane subsided they got straight back to the task of receiving and dis-tributing food and essential groceries to member charities on the front line. Goods went out by truck, van, ute and car to the affected areas around the state.
The phone rang off the hook, loaded trucks ar-rived at all hours of the day and food whizzed in and out of the warehouse but the Queensland team never flagged. And the challenges just keep on coming. Since the floods, North Queensland has endured the fury of Cyclone Yasi and there are still people all over the state without homes or the means to support their families. Foodbank Queensland continues to meet the challenges head-on channelling goods donated by organi-sations, big and small, that are committed to helping those in need.
In the 2010 calendar year Foodbank in Australia received a total of 19,465,322 kilograms of food and groceries which is an increase of 7.8% on 2009. The donations provided 25,953,763 meals or 71,106 meals per day. If welfare agen-cies were forced to purchase the food for this many meals at retail, it would cost them in excess of $120 million. This is money which can be spent on other vital activities such as counselling and support.
Foodbank Australia maintains detailed tallies of the food and groceries it receives from all its national sources and at the end of every calendar year provides a report to each of its national donor companies on the volume and
nature of their donations as well as the other contri-butions they have made such as fundraising and volunteering.
Each year Foodbank’s national partners look for ways in which they can capture more of the food that goes by the wayside in the food production chain. Their aim is to reduce waste from paddock to plate in a double win – for people in need and for the environment. Foodbank is keen to acknowledge the effort made by individual companies because, without it, the organisation simply wouldn’t exist. So, we’d like to extend a big thank you to our na-tional donors.
New Foodbank DirectorsWe’re pleased to announce the appointment of two new Directors to the Foodbank Australia Board.
Grain farmers encouraged to do their bitA special call is being put out to grain farmers across Australia to spare a small portion of their crop to provide the missing link in achieving Foodbank’s annual targets of 1,200 tonnes of breakfast cereal and 1,100 tonnes of pasta.
For the past two years, Foodbank Australia has partner- ed with CBH Grain to provide growers in Western Australia with the opportunity to make a donation from their harvest. This has worked well with farmer generosity resulting in Foodbank producing foods to augment its supply of staples. Having supplies of cereal and pasta on hand in the Queensland warehouse in January proved to be the perfect solution for flood victims with meagre cooking facilities.
One donation already received this year is from Agfarm in the Parkes area. “After regular auditing we discovered some additional grain. While too small to sell commercially, we were sure it had a need somewhere,” Agfarm Operation’s Manager, Rebecca Longworth said. “A staff member in Victoria mentioned Foodbank and we decided to transfer this grain into the program. “Since Foodbank is focused on improving the lives of Australians who rely on food relief, we thought this was a very worthwhile cause, which fits well into Agfarm’s sponsorship policy.”
The scheme is very simple - growers are asked to nominate a tonnage they’re willing to donate, either at the time of initial delivery or out of storage with bulk handlers. Wheat or barley of any receivable grade can be donated at any CBH Grain, GrainCorp, AWB GrainFlow or ABA site. By delivering or
transferring to a Foodbank customer code, a grower enters into a donation contract with CBH. Receipts for the donations are provided for tax purposes calculated on the value of the grain on the day of donation/transfer.
“Agfarm encourages others in the industry to transfer excess or unused grain to Foodbank,” said Rebecca. “While we regularly trade in hundreds and thousands of tonnes, it is easy to forget how the smaller quantities can do so much to help people in need.”
Growers in South Australia, Victoria, NSW and Queens- land can contact CBH Grain Grower Services for more information by calling 1800 107 759. Growers in Western Australia should call 1800 199 083.
Anthony Gregorio is CEO of the Euro RSCG owned group of companies in Australia. This includes full service advertising agencies ‘Euro RSCG’ and ‘The Furnace’; PR Agency ‘Red Agency’ and Recruitment/Employer Branding Agency ‘The Face’. Anthony has an extensive career in advertising and promotion and has been responsible for blue chip clients such a VW, Sony, Fairfax, St George and Compaq. Anthony has previously been NSW Chair of the Advertising Federation of Australia and member of the national board.
John Doumani is the Managing Director of Fonterra Australia New Zealand. With a career spanning over 28 years in international business and consumer brands, John will bring a wealth of experience to Foodbank in relation to fast moving consumer goods. Prior to joining Fonterra in 2007, John was President International of the Campbell’s Soup Company, responsible for its operations across Europe, Asia and the Pacific. He has also held international positions with the Meadow Lea Foods Group and Johnson & Johnson. John is the current Chairman of the Australian Food and Grocery Council and a Director of the Inspire Foundation.
The hard-working team at Foodbank Queensland
Foodbank’s national partners aiming to capture more food in the chain.
Foodbanks come together from around the globeFoodbank Australia’s CEO, John Webster, has just returned from the 2011 Global Foodbanking Network Leadership Institute in San Antonio. Delegates representing Foodbanks in 22 countries around the world attended the conference to share their experiences and learn new ways to rescue food for those in need.
A full five-day program covered topics such as the evolution of food banking, food safety issues and engaging corporate partners. John presented the Australian perspective speaking on the success of the Woolworths reverse logistics initiative and the collaborative supply program as well as Foodbank Australia’s partnership with Euro RSCG on communications.
“The Global FoodBanking Network is a great resource for us in attaining best practise. It’s good to be able to draw down on the experience of all those foodbanks that have been around longer than we have at the same time as lending a hand to the younger organisations which are just finding their feet.
She’ll be apples mate!We all know what they say about an apple a day and now, thanks to Montague Fresh, Foodbank’s recipients will be able to test the theory.
Montague Fresh is leading the way in the fruit and vegetable industry by becoming Food-bank’s first fresh produce National Signatory Donor. It will sign an agreement that will mean a consistent supply of fresh apples and pears to Foodbanks around the country. The Montague organisation has been a long standing supporter of Foodbank providing additional cold storage facilities to the warehouses as well as supplying some ad-hoc donations of apples from time to time. However, after attending a special reception held by the Governor-General Ms Quentin Bryce AC in 2010, Montague Fresh was moved to up the ante and increase its commitment with an
offer of weekly deliveries of fresh apples and pears to Foodbank warehouses all over the country. It is anticipated that 30,000 kg of fresh fruit will be donated weekly.
This is a great step forward for Foodbank which is looking to increase the amount of fresh produce it obtains in order to raise the nutritional profile of the food it supplies to welfare agencies. Last year fresh produce represented only 23% of all food collected – the goal is to increase this to 36% by 2015 to bring the ratio more in line with the National Dietary Guidelines. It is hoped that the agreement with Montague Fresh will become a model for other fresh produce donors in the future.
Foodbank Australia Limited Address: Riverside Corporate Park 11 Julius Ave, North Ryde NSW 2113 Phone: 02 9887 4144 E-mail: [email protected] CEO: John Webster
Foodbank NSW Limited Address: 152 Newton Road Wetherill Park NSW 2164 Phone: 02 9756 3099 Fax: 02 9757 3944 E-mail: [email protected] CEO: Gerry Andersen
Foodbank Queensland Limited Address: 179 Beverley Street Colmslie QLD 4170 Phone: 07 3395 8422 Fax: 07 3395 8477 E-mail: [email protected] General Manager: Ken McMillan
Vicrelief Foodbank Address: 4/2 Somerville Road Yarraville VIC 3013 Phone: 03 9362 8300 Fax: 03 9362 8301 E-mail: [email protected] GM Donor Relations: Mike Cannon
Foodbank of South Australia Inc. Address: 377 Cross Road Edwardstown SA 5039 Phone: 08 8351 1136 Fax: 08 8351 1137 E-mail: [email protected] General Manager: Leigh Royans
Foodbank of Western Australia Inc. Address: 63 Division Street Welshpool WA 6106 Phone: 08 9258 9277 Fax: 08 9258 5177 E-mail: [email protected] CEO: Greg Hebble
Foodbank of tasmania Inc. Address: 1066 Cambridge Road Cambridge TAS 7170 Phone: 03 6248 4974 Fax: 03 6248 4973 E-mail: [email protected] General Manager: Tim Dunn
Foodbank Northern territory Address: 9 Mel Road Berrimah NT 0828 Phone: 08 8947 3669 Fax: 08 8941 1866 E-mail: [email protected] General Manager: Peter Fisher
Newsletter produced in association with Euro rSCG, the Face & red Agency teams
