Woodside Projects Team at Foodbank
Woodside continues to work towards Sustainable Development Goals* through their volunteer programs with Volunteering WA. This time it was their Projects Team working towards no poverty (SDG 1) and zero hunger (SDG 2). The "no poverty" goal strives to reduce and ultimately eradicate extreme poverty in the world and the "zero hunger" goal challenges us to rethink how we grow, share and consume our food to work towards ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture. Woodside partnered with Foodbank to move a step in the right direction towards achieving these goals.
Foodbank is Australia’s largest hunger relief organisation, providing 63 million meals a year to over 2,600 charities and 1,750 schools, and accounts for 70% of all the food distributed to charities by food rescue organisations in Australia. So far, it has provided over 532 million meals to Australians!
A team of volunteers from Woodside’s Projects team took a day out of the office to lend their support to Foodbank as it continues its strong hunger relief agenda. The team of 18 volunteers met on site and were then split into two groups, with one group heading to the warehouse to pack food parcels, and the second heading to the Foodbank Kitchen to help cook healthy meals that will be distributed by various service providers.
“"[I realised] what an incredibly positive impact Foodbank has on the community".”
In the kitchen, pork was featured front and centre, with pork lasagne being prepared and packed. Foodbank had recently received tonnes of pork from WA farmers who were having trouble competing with the low price of pork, leaving lots unsold. The team quickly implemented an production line to get the lasagnes packed and ready to be sold to service providers for $3 a pack and given to their clients.
The warehouse team were given a tour of the warehouse and shown all the donated food that had been received and where they were stored. Pork was also on display here, with pork patties needing to be packed into food parcels, along with a large selection of donated fruits and potatoes. This team also had a production line going and it wasn’t long before they started churning out completed packs.
The team was not only blown away by the amazing work Foodbank does, but also by the people. One kitchen volunteer highlighted the “inspirational chef [who was] always looking for solutions”. Everyone had strong positive takeaways from the day, from the teamwork and camaraderie they experienced with their colleagues, to being part of a positive change in the world, to a quiet reflection and appreciation of their own lives.
“[I enjoyed the] excellent teamwork and realisation of how privileged I am not to worry about my next meal.”