SecondBite

North Townsville Community Hub (NOTCH) welcomed a very special visitor on April 8: Her Excellency, the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn, AC Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. NOTCH supports around 1,000 people each month with nutritious food and meals through SecondBite, reaching families in crisis and those impacted by the rising cost of living. Her Excellency’s visit shone a spotlight on NOTCH’s incredible work across Emergency Relief, Community Food Programs, and Disaster Response. Our National Operations Manager, Tegan, and Community Partnership Officer, Rob, were honoured to meet the Governor-General — and inspired by her three core values: Care, Kindness, and Respect.

🌟Spotlight on Brockman Community House🌟 We recently visited Brockman Community House in Beechboro, where they’re committed to creating a healthy, inclusive, and empowered community. Every week, they support over 100 local families with food assistance, life skills workshops, childcare, and more. As part of our partnership, together we've rescued an amazing 7,360kgs of food in 2024. This goes towards their food share pantry and pantry boxes. We’re proud to support the incredible work they do and build a stronger community! 💙

✨Tegan's Journey: 10+ Years of Impact✨ In 2014, after dedicating herself to full-time parenting, Tegan took a casual job as a SecondBite van driver in Queensland. Little did she know that this would turn into over a decade of dedication to SecondBite’s mission. “When I started, there was no office,” Tegan explained. “We parked our vans in the driveway at the State Manager’s home and dropped off the keys in his living room.” Fast forward to today, Tegan serves as Head of National Operations, overseeing the collection and distribution of an incredible 25 million kgs of food annually! Reflecting on the journey, Tegan says, “I can honestly say, I never thought this scale would have been achievable. And now, with the merger with FareShare – we are working together, our goals aligned. I think we will be unstoppable with what we can do.”

🌟Spotlight on Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre 🌟 We recently visited the Ballarat Neighbourhood Centre, a vital hub in the community offering training, volunteering, and social support to the local community. Every Friday, they serve a free community lunch to 80-120 people. This is prepared and served by volunteers and students undertaking the ‘Cooking for the Community’ and ‘Front of House’ courses. Through our Coles Community Connect program, they've rescued more than 5,100kgs of food since July 2024. This food goes straight into these training programs and the free Friday lunch. We’re proud to support their amazing work! 💙

🌟 Spotlight on Goodna Street Life Inc, QLD 🌟 At SecondBite, we’re proud to support Goodna Street Life, an incredible charity in Ipswich, Queensland, dedicated to helping the homeless and vulnerable. Since 2015, they’ve been offering critical services like crisis accommodation, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, food programs, and employment support. Their new Helen’s Haven Foodbank is making a huge impact, providing 220-240 people per week with free food hampers and a low-cost grocery outlet. Through our Community Connect program, we helped Goodna Street Life rescue more than 20,000 kgs of food in 2024. This food is fueling their growing food programs along with their new commercial-grade kitchen set to produce 300 meals per week. We’re honored to partner with Goodna Street Life, helping provide nourishment and support to people who need it most.

🌟Spotlight on Southside Church NSW 🌟 At Southside Church in Sutherland, their mission is simple: to assist those in need within their local community. From food pantry services to budgeting assistance, they provide both practical and emotional support to people doing it tough. In 2024, Southside Church received more than 13,700 kgs of rescued food through our Community Connect program which supports their weekly food pantry held every Wednesday. Together, we’re making a real difference in the lives of people experiencing food insecurity.

It's official, the federal election is upon us. Sadly, on election day (and all the days prior), millions of Australians will continue to struggle to put food on the table. That’s why the food relief sector is UNITING to push for genuine solutions to food insecurity! Between us, SecondBite | FareShare and our sector partners Foodbank Australia and OzHarvest delivered over 160 million meals last year. But we need urgent government action to tackle hunger at its source, plus ongoing support to ensure that no one is left hungry. While we welcome the Coalition’s recent announcement of $50 million in funding, much more is desperately needed for the sector to increase its support to communities and address the demand we see every day. This federal election, we collectively call for stronger food governance, and greater support for the food rescue and relief sector to solve Australia's hunger crisis. Read our full election brief here: https://lnkd.in/di55utJ3

🥫Cyclone Alfred Food Relief 🍝 Together with FareShare, we're responding to Ex Tropical Cyclone Alfred by delivering emergency food hampers filled with essential, nutritious items and cooked meals to people in urgent need. So far, between Northern New South Wales and Southern Queensland, we have delivered the equivalent of 122,222 meals to people affected by this disaster – this includes SecondBite pantry staples, bottled water, and fresh fruit and veg, and FareShare ready-to-eat meals. These meals are often ideal for people struggling with a long recovery and/or who have lost access to their cooking facilities. These communities will need our support for some time to come, as they continue to clean up following this disaster. If you are able to help us continue to provide this support, please donate here: secondbite.org/emergency #CycloneAlfred #DisasterRelief #EmergencyRelief

🎉 20 years of impact🎉 Founded by Ian and Simone Carson in 2005, we began with a simple yet profound idea: to reduce food going to landfill while providing food relief to people in need. What started with collecting surplus food at a Melbourne market grew into Australia’s largest food rescue organisation! In the early days, we collected 600kgs of food, about 1,200 meals, and have now distributed over 350 million meals nationwide since our foundation. To our generous volunteers, donors, partners, and staff, your support has been vital in helping us reach this significant milestone. We are proud of what we have accomplished together, but we know that the work is far from done. Here’s to 20 years of fighting food insecurity and many more to come. Read more about our journey at https://lnkd.in/dqAiBY5T

🎉 Celebrating 20 Years of Impact 🎉 This year we reached a major milestone—our 20th anniversary— celebrated at a special reception at Government House. It was an unforgettable evening, reflecting on two decades of making a difference, and made even more memorable by the presence of people who have played a key role in SecondBite’s journey. We were truly honoured to have Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC, Governor of Victoria, host this incredible occasion. Her support and presence made the evening even more special. 🙏