600,000 meals for Australians in need

Mars Food Australia and Foodbank have launched a new partnership that will help to provide a reliable supply of more than 600,000 meals to Australians in need this year.

During the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020, the demand for food relief increased by 47 percent, with three in 10 food insecure Australians facing hunger for the first time in their lives. As part of the new program, Mars Food Australia is donating a suite of four products. These will be manufactured specifically for Foodbank and supplied regularly each quarter.

From surprise to supply

Foodbank CEO Brianna Casey says this new supply program will help Foodbank respond to the increasing demand for food relief. Having access to a steady supply of food will help meet the huge logistical challenge of getting food to thousands of Australians in need.

“This program helps turn our food ‘surprise chain’, based on ad hoc donations and unpredictable food rescue opportunities, into a predictable, reliable supply chain,” she says. “Foodbank has never been more important than it is right now. We ensure essential food relief can remain available despite lockdowns, border closures and panic buying.

“Unpredictable employment patterns and the economic fallout from COVID-19 means we’ve had to increase the quantity of food we’re providing. Partnerships like this with Mars are vital in helping us meet this growing need.”

Reliable sauce

Mars is donating some of its most popular products, such as pasta sauces and simmer sauces. These were chosen for their versatility and ability to help people create easy and satisfying meals with ingredients commonly available through food relief.

General Manager of Mars Food Australia, Bill Heague, says Mars is committed to helping alleviate the growing hunger problem in Australia.

“Last year, through our monthly ad hoc Foodbank donations, we delivered 265,700 meals to people in need,” he says. “But the pandemic made food insecurity an even bigger issue in our society, and we knew we could do more. We talked with Foodbank about what help they needed most. A consistent supply of food products came out on top.

“This year we’ll increase our contribution by providing recipe bases and sauces for 600,000 meals through Foodbank. We hope to grow this contribution further in future.”

You can help Foodbank to provide food relief to more Australians in need in need by making a donation. Head to foodbank.org.au to find out more.