Australia: Educating youth about food insecurity

The Issue: Food Insecurity

Over 1.2 million Australians face food insecurity. They are unable to access a secure, safe and healthy source of food to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle.  Whilst they deal with the regular struggle to find food, a huge amount of food goes to waste.  Every year in Australia $5.2 billion worth of food is thrown out.

Our Response: SecondBite Food Angels

YGAP is helping to financially support SecondBite’s Food Angels program which gives vulnerable people access to fresh food, educates them on how to best utilise that food, and provides vital links to local community support.  Food Angels provides information on budgeting, food safety, food storage, healthy eating, local food access and shopping tips so that upon leaving the program, vulnerable people can source fresh food independently with the aim of ending their food insecurity.

SecondBite is committed to making a positive difference to people by identifying sources of nutritious surplus fresh food and produce that might otherwise go to waste and facilitating its safe and timely distribution to agencies and people in need. They also are committed to addressing the causes of food insecurity through the education of vulnerable individuals.

SecondBite’s Progress So Far:

• 2 pilot programs run in in 2011, in Victoria and Tasmania
• 32 vulnerable people and their families supported in the pilot programs
• $30,000: total donations which funded the pilot program

YGAP’s Funding Will Help To:

• Expansion to 8 new locations in Victoria and Tasmania
• Expansion of the programs to help 250 vulnerable people and their families