Our Suppliers

We receive approximately 45% of our food from FoodBank Victoria. This includes meals produced by Second Bite and foods from FairShare (based in Melbourne). We also share some of our excess food with FoodBank Victoria.

However, we focus our attention on maximising local food rescue and donations. We do this in two ways;

• We collaborate with our FoodShare friends based in Bendigo and Shepparton and Cobram.
• We receive donated food and rescue food from over 30 local food suppliers such as farmers, food producers (like Uncle Toby’s and Mars), supermarkets, and green grocers etc.

We are so grateful to all our suppliers, who include:

• ALDI Supermarkets (Albury, Lavington, Wodonga)
• Coles Supermarkets (High St Wodonga, Elgin St Wodonga, Biralee)
• Christy Mack Fruit & Vegetables
• Coon’s Dairy
• IGA Supermarkets
• Neal Furze Eggs
• The Reject Shop (Albury)
• Rivalea Australia (Corowa)
• Riverina Dairy
• Shepparton Foodshare
• Woolworths (Regional Distribution Centre, Lavington, Thurgoona, Albury, Whitebox Rise, Wodonga, Centro Wodonga)

Storage & Logistic Support

It is critical for us to have reliable storage and logistic support. For this we thank:

• Don Watson Transport
• Border Express
• Greenfreight
• Francis Transport
• Asixa Albury

Why Does Food End Up In The Donate Pile?

Well sometimes it’s because…

• the packaging is incorrect, or
• the product weight is a few grams off, or
• it was a new line that didn’t sell very well, or
• it’s just not selling fast enough and is getting close to its used by date, or
• it got slightly damaged from the weather or
• …. The list goes on and on, but the fact is …

The food we rescue is perfectly good, delicious food that does not deserve to go in the bin.

Food Quantity

We currently rescue over 47.8 tonnes per month. We sort through the food, discarding anything that has perished into bins that are collected by our farmers which they use to feed their livestock. We break down big pallets etc. of food into smaller more useable portions for our agencies.

We currently supply the equivalent of 1.3 million meals per year to people in need.

Food Quality

Our goal is to increase the availability for fresh, wholesome food that supports people experiencing poverty having a healthy diet. This involves distributing perishable foods such as fruit, vegetables, meats and dairy products quickly to maintain their freshness. We have specifically addressed this through working with our suppliers, volunteers and agencies to maximise our fresh foods.

The same regulatory food safety standards apply to our operation as it does to all Australian food oriented services. We have very strict stock transport and control mechanisms in place and we do not accept or distribute food that is past its’ used by date or does not meet other food safety requirements.