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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2019-12-04 Daily Xml
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Foodbank South Australia

The Hon. F. PANGALLO (15:31): Today, I also want to pay tribute to a wonderful non-profit charity organisation, Foodbank SA, which largely flies under the radar compared with other welfare organisations that also do exemplary work. Foodbank was established in 2000 with the vision to achieve a South Australia with no hunger. This week, with the assistance of the ABC's 891, Foodbank is conducting its annual food drive, seeking contributions at various locations around Adelaide. I urge all members to drop items into their distinctive purple bins.

Foodbank SA offers a variety of foods, either free of charge or at very low cost, to low-income families, welfare and community support agencies, including schools. They have warehouses at Edwardstown, Berri, Mount Gambier and Whyalla, which I had the pleasure of visiting last year along with members of the upper house select committee into poverty.

Connie Bonaros and I have also visited Foodbank's Edwardstown facility, and you can only admire what they are doing. This organisation provides a very essential service to our community, particularly in the tough economic times now faced by low income families. To keep their heads above water, many families opt not to pay their bills and, instead, go hungry rather than shop for food.

Demand for their service is up 15 per cent on last year, with 135,000 seeking food assistance each month. Foodbank and McCrindle Research state that over one in five children live in a food insecure household and that they are more vulnerable to the issue than an adult. It was reported that hunger amongst children negatively altered not only their behaviour but also their emotions and physical wellbeing and may lead to a child's inability to thrive at school.

Last financial year alone, Foodbank South Australia provided enough food for more than 5.1 million meals, providing food relief to 117,260 South Australians every month. More than one-third of these were children. They supply food to more than 580 welfare agencies and community groups—or 70 per cent of what is needed—and support over 500 school programs across Adelaide's metropolitan, regional and remote areas.

Greg Pattinson, Foodbank's chief executive officer, told me that 7,000 children benefit each day from the breakfast foods they provide. At one school, Warriappendi near Richmond, around 90 Aboriginal students are bussed in from various parts Adelaide and as far away as Gawler each morning for breakfast.

Schools participating in the Foodbank South Australia School Breakfast Program reported that there are students who have little or no food when they are at home over the weekend. Fresh Food Friday was developed in 2018 and is sponsored by Variety. It allows students in need to take home hampers of food packs on Fridays. Mr Pattinson tells me that through the generosity of our farming and retail sector Foodbank receives 1.5 million kilograms of food. They also get generous corporate support.

There is also another ground-breaking program Foodbank is delivering, the Young Women's Health Pack in conjunction with Share the Dignity, which was outlined by the Hon. Irene Pnevmatikos. Only last week the Legislative Council passed a motion by my colleague the Hon. Connie Bonaros to make sanitary products available in our schools. She has also introduced a bill to that effect, and I would hope it sees a speedy passage.

The Victorian government has just committed $20.7 million to its sanitary program. Mr Pattinson says Foodbank can achieve the same outcome for about 95 per cent less; however, they need the Marshall government to show far more support than it does. An injection of $100,000 would provide 6,000 packs for young women, and there are also plans to have similar packs for young men.

The Victorian government provides $10 million each year to Foodbank for its food program. It is shameful to think that our state government provides only $300,000 a year. It has also cut funding. It is the worst of any state. Foodbank really needs $2.5 million a year. As Mr Pattinson puts it, this should be viewed more as investment than a handout; if Foodbank wasn't there it would cost the government $25 million.

So on Friday, when the Premier goes to the Central Market to drop off his donation to 891's Ali Clarke and David Bevan, I hope he also takes along an additional Christmas gift—a sizeable cheque so that Foodbank can maintain and expand its valuable community work. This Christmas many battling families on struggle street will be thanking Foodbank for being there for them.

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