A Tasmanian food rescue organisation currently distributes 800,000 kilograms of food and more than a million ready-to-eat meals each year, and its CEO says work only becomes more urgent as winter sets in.
Andrew Hillier has led Loaves and Fishes Tasmania for more than two decades, which started as a chaplaincy service in Devonport in 2005.
What began as a small community effort has grown into a statewide social food enterprise employing 75 staff and supporting more than 270 community food programs and organisations each week.
Hillier said the operation rests on three pillars: food, community and jobs.
“We make sure that food gets to people who need it,” he told Pulse.
“We work closely with community food programs and organisations around the state, over 270 of those that we support on a weekly basis.”
The organisation rescues surplus food that would otherwise end up in landfill, repackages it and also produces fresh meals for those in need at kitchens in Devonport and in southern Tasmania.
But Hillier said handing out food isn’t enough on its own.
He pointed to what he sees as a broken food system, noting Tasmania produces some of the country’s finest food yet exports most of it interstate.
“It’s not acceptable that near one in five Tasmanians find it difficult to put food on the table when we’re exporting 70% of our produce,” he said.
He said those doing it tough often turn to processed food which leads to health problems and deeper cycles of disadvantage.
Loaves and Fishes is tackling that by working with communities to make fresh produce available at low cost and providing education on preparing simple, healthy meals.
The jobs pillar is also making a tangible difference.
Hillier recalled a young worker in the Devonport warehouse telling him he was the first person in his family to hold a full-time job.
“He said, ‘I am so proud of myself,'” Hillier said.
“What we’re actually doing is we’re changing a generation.”
Hillier said his motivation comes from a desire to serve others, inspired by his Christian faith, though he stressed the organisation welcomes people of all backgrounds.
“I believe that the best thing that we can do as humanity, putting aside whether you’re a person of faith or not, is to understand the importance of serving others,” he said.
“And so that’s the foundation for why I do what I do.”
“And through the course of time, we realise that serving those who are most vulnerable in our community and those around us who have the most need and helping them by giving them a hand up and then a hand on and actually equipping them to grow and to become who they’re meant to be, is the best way that we can make an impact.”
With winter approaching, he said demand for support rises sharply and the organisation needs ongoing financial backing to purchase food it can’t source through donations.
Loaves and Fishes is hosting winter solstice splashes at Penguin on June 21 and Kingston Beach on June 27 to raise funds by “braving the cold to warm the community”.
Hillier said the organisation is also upgrading its Devonport facility and would welcome support from businesses or philanthropic groups wanting to help it rescue more food, produce more meals and create more jobs.
To donate or for more information: www.loavesandfishestasmania.org.au.
