SA charities screaming out for donated food, as groceries head to landfill
SOUTH Australian charities say they can’t keep up with the demand for donated food as more and more people struggle on the poverty line. They are deeply concerned by continuing retail food waste despite growing efforts to stem the tide of good food ending up in landfill.
CHARITIES are devastated and frustrated by food retailers dumping good food into landfill as they struggle to feed a growing number of hungry South Australians – a third of them children.
They say more needs to be done to connect supermarkets with charities in an efficient and agile way to avoid tonnes of food heading to Wingfield daily.
Their calls for help come as Foodbank SA chief executive Greg Pattinson told the Sunday Mail $4 million in logistics and transport infrastructure connecting charities with food producers and retailers would safely redirect food from dumpster to plate to meet an annual growth of 20 per cent in food demand from charities.
Foodbank in SA receives one of the least amounts of state government funding among Foodbanks nationwide, a March State Budget submission says.
Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said legal intervention, such as French laws prohibiting disposal of food before expiry or best-before dates, was unnecessary.
“State and territory governments have amended the relevant acts and regulations to remove civil liability from food donors, including supermarkets and other food retailers, enabling businesses to donate surplus food to the vulnerable in our society,” he said.
A special investigation by the Sunday Mail this monthfound dozens of Adelaide supermarket, bakery and fruiterer dumpsters containing fresh fruit and vegetables, meat, dairy and baked goods yet to reach used-by dates.
“It is a shame so much food is wasted when there is such a great need in the community,” Salvation Army community support services team leader Madeliene Scicluna said.
The Salvos operate a daily food relief pantry that they say regularly runs low, and more often so in recent months.
In the past, a monthly food market feeding more than 300 people would distribute donated food over four hours – now the food is gone in two.
“We’re devastated by the amount of food waste,” Puddle Jumpers chief executive and founder Melanie Tate said.
About 300 people – a third children – seek food relief from the Puddle Jumpers charity each week.
“It’s not unusual for us some weeks to run out of food within the first 15 minutes,” Ms Tate said.
St Vincent de Paul Society SA serves 202,000 meals each year through Fred’s Van services, crisis centres, and food hampers – the demand for which is increasing, particularly in Adelaide’s north.
“It’s absolutely frustrating knowing that at the other end there is a child willing to eat anything that is in front of them because they haven’t seen food for a while,” St Vincent de Paul Society SA chief David Wark said.
“If we had the chance to provide more with the food supplied by food recovery organisations then we certainly would,” he said.
A Woolworths spokesman said the company was working harder to minimise stock loss and further engage with partner hunger-relief agencies.
The Federal Government is spending $50 million on halving food waste by 2030 through research from the Fight Food Waste Co-operative Research Centre which opened at the University of Adelaide’s Waite Campus on July 1.