Brianna Casey is the CEO of Foodbank Australia, Australia’s largest food relief organisation that provides essential food & groceries to front line charities around the country. In this episode, Brianna talks to Food & Drink Business editor Kim Berry about food insecurity and its prevalence within all walks of life in Australia.
Even before the Black Summer bushfires and COVID, Foodbank was helping 815,000 Australians every month to obtain essential, safe, healthy and culturally appropriate foods and groceries. Currently, that figure has expanded to well over one million people per month. Brianna notes that it’s not just the homeless or those living in poverty who are struggling to feed themselves and their families. She points out that many Australians are only a missed payday away from food becoming a discretionary item in the home.
We talk about the logistics involved in obtaining and distributing food to those in need, the unpredictability of supply through food rescue and the ground-breaking work Foodbank has performed to arrange collaborative manufacturing as well as funding the purchase of food and grocery products thanks to donation of funds to the charity.
Brianna recalls the impacts to Foodbank’s ability to operate due to Covid and recent flooding which disabled supply lines to the west and north of the country.
She also talks about the importance of working with government and having a seat at the table to drive social policies to support the most vulnerable in Australia and reduce food inequality.
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Host: Kim Berry
MC: Grant McHerron
Editor: Chris Visscher
Producer: Steve Visscher
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