One of the largest food donations ever made in Australia has been delivered to Foodbank’s Yarraville headquarters.
Sirena Tuna has given one million tuna containers to Anglicare Victoria and hundreds of other smaller charities across the state, with Foodbank playing the role of distributor.
Anglicare Victoria chief executive Paul McDonald said last Thursday’s donation of tuna valued at almost $3 million couldn’t have come at a better time.
“Winter is when we need relief services and donations the most,” he said. “It will help us in getting tuna and rice to kids at a time that a lot of families are struggling. In winter when people are spending their money on warmth, food often falls short.”
Mr McDonald said Anglicare was working with Foodbank to help get the tuna where it was most needed. He hoped Sirena’s generosity would spur other businesses to follow suit and help feed the hundreds of thousands of Australians going hungry.
“They approached us and they said they wanted to do their bit,” he said. “It’s just extraordinary, both because of the size of the donation and the quality of the product.”
Mr McDonald said Australians would continue to go hungry as long as vulnerable people were left living below the poverty line.
“We have 600,000 children in families where neither parent is working,” he said.
“We are in a federal election where neither of the major parties is talking about raising government payments.”
Sirena Tuna general manager Jeff Sloan said Anglicare Victoria was chosen as the main charity for the company to support as it protected and empowered disadvantaged Victorian children, young people and families.
“They don’t just provide food donations, they go that extra step to educate families on how to shop, what to look for in store,” he said.
