Woolworths is partnering with Foodbank and FareShare to launch its mid-year Hunger Relief Appeal to assist food relief services.
The appeal will run from Wednesday 17 August until Tuesday 13 September and provide customers with the option to ‘round up’ the the check out.
Throughout the appeal, Woolworths will also donate 50 cents from the sale of every Woolworths-branded single-serve Ready Meal to FareShare.
Woolworths managing director Natalie Davis said the appeal aims to raise more than $2 million to provide food relief for charities across Australia.
“As today’s fresh food people, we are focused on caring for all Australians and small change can make a huge difference—it’s as easy as rounding up a purchase at the self-service checkout, or scanning a barcode after the weekly grocery shopping. We encourage our customers who are in a position to do so to support Foodbank and FareShare via the Hunger Relief Appeal at Woolworths this year,” she said.
FareShare operates Australia’s largest charity kitchens in Melbourne and Brisbane, where chefs and volunteers work hand in hand to cook donated food into millions of complete, nutritious meals for those in need.
Fareshare has been in partnership with Woolworths since 2008, collecting excess food from more than 100 stores.
Chief executive Paul Conroy said every donation to the Hunger Appeal tells struggling people that somebody cares.
“For over 20 years, FareShare has been using rescued, donated and homegrown ingredients to cook free, nutritious meals for those experiencing hardship,” he said.
“When you support FareShare, you are not just feeding someone in need. You are giving them a delicious, ready-to-eat meal which takes the worry out of going hungry and the stress out of cooking. You are making them feel better.”
Foodbank is the largest food relief organisation in Australia, and supplies 70 percent of all food required by the welfare sector.
The charity has been a Woolworths partner for 20 years, and currently assists more than one million people a month, with more than 40 percent of these people located in rural areas.
Foodbank Australia chief executive Brianna Casey said there was a higher demand for food relief across the country.
“People living in regional areas are 30 percent more likely to be food insecure than those living in the city, so the assistance we get to transport food to the parts of Australia that need it the most is essential to us,” she said.
“The support of the Hunger Appeal at Woolworths will help families and communities of all ages and in all corners of the country who are going without the basic daily nourishment they need.”
