Irene Naidu’s Post

Good Morning TechBabesNZ Community! It’s time to work your magic! ⭐️ You have the opportunity to help an amazing organisation feed hungry tummies in Auckland and Wellington with the incredible initiative Everybody Eats 🥘 By voting for Everybody Eats on this link: https://lnkd.in/gz84YwbF you’ll increase their chances in receiving a share in a grant that will be announced on September 30th by My Giving Circle. It's free to vote and only takes a moment. ✅ Some information about Everybody Eats: Everybody Eats is a remarkable movement that addresses critical issues: food waste, food poverty, and social isolation. 1. Alleviating Food Poverty: Shockingly, one in six Kiwis faces food insecurity. Despite being a developed nation, New Zealand grapples with food poverty. Everybody Eats steps in by providing restaurant-quality, three-course meals to those in need. For every $10 raised, they can serve three such meals, making a tangible impact. 2. Reducing Food Waste: Globally, around one-third of the food produced ends up uneaten. In New Zealand, this wastage contributes to harmful greenhouse gases like methane. By rescuing perfectly good food that would otherwise be discarded, Everybody Eats plays a vital role in minimising food waste. 3. Building Community: Our society has become increasingly fragmented, and social isolation is a growing concern. Everybody Eats creates welcoming spaces where people from diverse backgrounds come together. Shared tables, friendly volunteers, and delicious meals foster connections, trust, and a sense of community. 4. Reducing Desperation: When people struggle to find food, they may resort to desperate measures, such as theft or unsafe food sources. By providing reliable meals, Everybody Eats reduces desperation and promotes community safety. Further information about Everybody Eats can be found on their website: https://everybodyeats.nz/ In summary, backing Everybody Eats isn’t just about food—it’s about compassion, empowerment, and building a stronger, more resilient community. 🌟🍽️🤝 #EverybodyEats #MakingAnImpact #NewZealand Urisha Sing

We've been doing a lot of listening by calling our customers and potential shareholders and one big issue has been coming up again and again: food insecurity in the context of food waste. How can we have this shocking problem in Australia when 25% of our produce never leaves the farm because its not pretty enough for supermarkets? One of the things we are most proud about at Good & Fugly is growing the impact we can have helping the food insecure by fighting food waste. Especially when it comes to our kids, 1 in 4 of them go to school without enough to eat. And only 1 in 7 kids get enough fruit and veg. With the cost-of-living crisis this is bound to get worse, but it shouldn't have to. This issue has prompted us to do some extra good with our Birchal raise. For every $1,000 raised during the private offer period, we are committing to giving 5 boxes of fruit and veg to disadvantaged schools where food insecurity is a day-to-day reality for their kids.. If you want to get on board, why not check out our page https://lnkd.in/dhQPSE3i The photo is of the proud winners of G&F's contest to find Australia's Fugliest Fruit or Veg --a much-loved primary school garden and the students and teacher who tend it. Always consider the general CSF risk warning and offer document before investing Leila Oliveira Mike Atkinson

As we start the new year our community partner network are seeing record numbers of people experiencing food insecurity and hunger, with more people in work seeking support. In the May budget the Federal Government must seriously consider lifting support payments, as they did through COVID, when we saw poverty levels fall. People need to eat. To meet continued rising demand small, local community organisations provide a life line, responding with food banks, food rescue and distribution, community meals and pantries and other responses, such as The Community Grocer (featured below) who StreetSmart seed funded back in 2015. (In 2022-23 10% of our grants funded food relief programs) #foodbank #foodinsecurity #hunger #poverty #homelessness https://lnkd.in/d8ZwES25

Second extract of what might go into the Poverty Forum Community Manifesto....again have a read, share or ask your candidates for their position: The Cornwall Food Access Alliance is a forum for all organisations concerned about Food Insecurity in Cornwall. It includes organisations that source and provide food (eg the Gleaning Network) and organisations that distribute food, such as community larders and foodbanks, whether Trussell Trust or independent, such as Transformation CPR. The aim of the group is to help organisations needing stock find those that have it, to prevent duplication and gain countywide intelligence about the nature of food shortage. As many foodbanks (like us in Truro) and larders report donations of food are dropping the need to focus on supply lines, purchasing implications and demand is ever more important. During covid, as the furthest west region, we saw supermarkets with empty shelves. In 2024 it is clear wholesalers and supermarkets do not keep the stock in hand they used to. Conversely it is also clear that some supermarkets have instructions to over supply bread baked in store, which can lead to waste. Why are food donations dropping? Should we be worried that they are? Some foodbanks are spending 5 figure sums a year now to make sure we have core stock: is that sustainable? What happens when both food donations and money donations dry up? OUR ASK: we ask that elected politicians do everything to promote the local growing and distribution of food. There must be an effective Food Policy for Cornwall that co-ordinates food supply and also regulates waste. If elected what is your position on this?

Had a few moments this afternoon to catch up on some industry news, I read two thought-provoking articles in 'The Grocer' highlighting the urgent need to tackle food poverty. First, the government-funded Holiday Activities & Food (HAF) programme, run by the charity Meals & More (set up by Brakes), is set to end this year. As the Chancellor considers the upcoming budget, it’s critical that tackling child hunger during school holidays remains a priority. Another article discussed how The Felix Project is expanding its services, distributing surplus food directly to community organisations in London instead of through warehouses. This initiative not only helps combat food waste but also makes it easier for manufacturers to prevent excess food from going to landfill, addressing food poverty in the process. Both issues highlight the need for continued innovation and commitment to solving hunger and food waste in the UK. https://lnkd.in/en5FJt_r https://lnkd.in/et4P2Vqm #ChildHunger #FoodWaste #MealsAndMore #FelixProject #FoodPoverty

With food banks all across Aotearoa struggling to meet rising need and putting caps on the number of parcels they distribute, now is the time to get behind Food Rescue. Rescuing food is one of the most cost effective ways to deliver food relief. With a social return on investment of $4.50 for every $1 put in, it’s money well spent. And rescued food is more likely to include fresh vegetables, fruit, and dairy making parcels healthier for families. Members of the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance not only provide food directly to people, they also supply food banks and community organisations. It’s not right that people go hungry in a country that feeds 40 million people and wastes 1/3 of the food it produces. There’s so much we need to do to change that. Supporting food rescue gets runs on the board now.

Today The Mayor's Fund for London held its Food & Communities Summit at City Hall to explore the challenges & solutions of food (in)justice & what communities need to thrive. It was a stark reminder that food insecurity & the cost of living crisis is affecting young Londoners on an unprecedented scale. But there was real optimism too. In his opening remarks, our CEO Jim Minton told attendees: “In the UK & in a city as wealthy as London, the level of food insecurity is an appalling situation, so let’s use today to challenge funders and policymakers to do more!” As Sara Faleghani’s Short film echoed into the room: “it’s not asking too much for a warm house and a full plate, [when all you have] is just nibbles on my insides for rent money”. The fact is the UK’s food poverty rate is amongst the highest in Europe. 3 in every 50 people have considered ending their lives because of the cost of living crisis. 1 in 2 people in the UK who have faced food insecurity in the past 12 months have poor mental well being, and food insecurity disproportionately affects people from marginalised communities, particularly Black and middle eastern people. Another takeaway was the difference between food justice and food equity. An example of food equity is all young londoners having equal access to healthy food, whereas food justice is creating pathways to access and ensuring that system change which enables food equity. This feels timely given “the last cost of living payment starts going out this week. We see in The Trussell Trust data that these provide immediate relief, with a 15% dip in the need for food banks when the last one was paid in November. But the impact is only short-lived, within a very few weeks the need shoots up again. See Helen Barnard’s post: https://lnkd.in/eGHk-hFp Food access does not stand in a vacuum. You are more likely to experience food insecurity if you live in the private renting sector; and a lack of social housing is entrenching inequalities. That’s why jcampaigns such as the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) & the Trussell Trust’s “Guarantee Our Essentials” is key. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eQRuHUsc We need to create a bigger table, not a higher wall. The solutions to these problems range from unlocking unrestricted funding, to supporting food collectives, & encouraging long term sustainable funding for projects to enable behavioural change. It isn’t that there isn’t enough food to go around; it’s that the funding isn’t distributed fairly. As one speaker said, “when rich companies have prosecco taps and marginalised people are struggling to afford water, it’s time to give power to those facing insecurity to bring about food justice”.

According to Feed Ontario, over 1 million people in Ontario visited a food bank in the last year. Feed Ontario also reported that Ontario food banks were visited 7.6 million times between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024 – which is a 134% increase from 2019-2020. This data marks an all-time high for food bank usage – the eighth consecutive year food bank use has risen in the province. Access the report to learn more! ⬇️ https://okt.to/muqtM8 #news #article #nonprofit #charity #foundation #association #community #charities #nonprofits #organizations #community #Canada #Ontario #affordabilitycrisis #reports #FoodBank

“Imagine a world where Western Australians skip meals or go entire days without food, not because of scarcity, but because of the rising cost of living,” Foodbank WA CEO Kate O'Hara told Business News. Here’s how you can help get food to people who need it. #costoflivingcrisis #costofliving #businessnews #wabusinessnews

According to Feed Ontario, over 1 million people in Ontario visited a food bank in the last year. Feed Ontario also reported that Ontario food banks were visited 7.6 million times between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024 – which is a 134% increase from 2019-2020. This data marks an all-time high for food bank usage – the eighth consecutive year food bank use has risen in the province. Access the report to learn more! ⬇️ https://okt.to/oZPvin #news #article #nonprofit #charity #foundation #association #community #charities #nonprofits #organizations #community #Canada #Ontario #affordabilitycrisis #reports #FoodBank