Illawarra Food Hub

Hope centre Foodbarn, has played an integral part in the provision of good quality food to those marginalised in our region for nine years.

The statistics paint the picture;

HCFB rescues in excess of 25 tonnes of food a week, serves multiple breakfast and school programmes; works in collaboration with many welfare agencies; the home of over 80 volunteers from all walks of life including Work for the Dole; Work Development Orders, Disability agencies; our wonderful seniors community, the list is endless.

Thanks to the generosity of our major Rescued food supporters like Woolworths, Coles / Secondbite, IGA and the financial support of Good Guys Warrawong , Nowra, Warrawong Nissan and Suzuki we can continue bringing Hope to our community.

Open Tues through Friday 10am to 3pm this service is available to anyone in receipt of a Centrelink benefit,anyone who falls in the low income bracket or anyone experiencing hardship. We offer access to a large range of food products including meat, dairy, bakery, cereal, toiletries, cleaning products and of course FREE fruit, veggies, bread and many other items.

The area covered by existing clients accessing the services of the HCFB are from Nowra to Moss Vale and up to Engadine.

Agencies also use our food voucher scheme include Anglicare; Vinnie’s; South Coast Youth Trust; Men’s Shelter Coniston; South Care; Illawarra Homeless Hub; Southern Family Services; SACYA.

Quick Facts

about food waste

Australia produces enough food to feed 60 million people, yet 2 million Australian do not have access to enough safe, nutritious food.

Greenhouse gases produced by food waste in landfill each year is equivalent to the emissions of Australia’s steel and iron ore industries combined!

8.2 million tonnes of food waste is generated each year in Australia, most of which ends up in landfill.

The Australian commercial and industrial sector sends approximately 1.5 million tonnes of food waste to landfill each year.

What is the

Illawarra Food Hub?

The Illawarra Food Hub (IFH) collects good food destined for landfill and redistributes it to people in need.

IFH is a group of community food aid organisations and businesses that:

Increase the amount of food rescued
Improve access to healthy food for people in need
Reduce the amount of waste going to landfill
Raise awareness of food insecurity, food aid and food rescue

The Illawarra Food Hub can provide assistance to those who work in the community to support people experiencing food insecurity.

All recovered food is free but there is a small cost of recovery to cover petrol, storage etc. Cost recovery rates do not have a profit margin. Community members can also access the IFH.

We take food safety seriously!

To ensure donated food is safe, the IFH donors and partner Food Aid Agencies:

Have a nominated food safety supervisor
Are inspected on a regular basis by Council
Are covered by Good Samaritan legislation protecting companies and individuals from liability when food is donated and distributed in good faith.

Benefits of food donation:

Social
support vulnerable members of our community

Economic
save on your waste disposal costs

Environmental
reduce the amount of good food going to waste in the Illawarra

Examples of food that can be donated:

Blemished or imperfect produce
Products close to their use by date
Products close or past their best before date
Excess and slow moving stock or deleted lines
Products that have incorrect, damaged or no labeling and/or damaged packaging
Sample size and bulk products
Surplus food from breakfast, lunch or dinner services e.g. salads, sandwiches, muffins and cakes

Get involved!

Community Organisations

Benefits to partner community organisations:

Access to fresh, frozen and pre-prepared food items at cost recovery rate
Share the delivery fees for Foodbank orders
Email or telephone order placement
Order delivery at a small cost recovery
Access to delivery truck
Access to IFH interagency communication

How to become a partner:

1. Contact the Illawarra Food Hub
2. Complete the partnership agreement
3. Provide your ATO charity exempt document and Public and Product Liability Insurance
4. Place and receive your first order!

Volunteering

Volunteers drive the trucks to collect donations, prepare welfare meals, sort donations and many other practical tasks. To get involved, email us and attend a volunteer information session. Volunteers have access to training and practical work placements.

Would you like to contribute?

Illawarra Food Hub is looking for partners, large and small, to work with us to achieve our goals. Please contact us if you would like to donate or find out more.