AUSTRALIA. Hungry families in Northeast Australia will soon have access to tonnes of fruit and vegetables thanks to a refrigerated truck donated to Foodbank Queensland by Alliance Airlines.
The truck will help to rescue and repurpose food at risk of going to waste and fast-track its distribution to more than 300 frontline charities and 300 school breakfast programmes throughout the state.
With the global cost-of-living crisis, the need for extra food is so strong that the refrigerated truck will be on the road up to seven hours each day. It is expected to travel 800km each week, carrying 28 pallets of donated food per trip.
“Every hour, Foodbank Queensland provides 3,000 meals to people in need in Queensland. This supports 150,000 Queenslanders each week, but sadly the demand still outweighs supply,” said Foodbank Queensland CEO Jess Watkinson.
“We have a big state and a lot of agriculture, but sadly, sometimes the crops just don’t get to market. With this truck we will have the capacity to rescue a lot of that produce and put it in the hands of the frontline charities that can distribute it. The generous support from Alliance Airlines will change lives right across the state.”
It is the fifth truck in the Foodbank Queensland fleet and will grow the charity’s capacity to collect food for frontline charities by +20 per cent.
Alliance Airlines Managing Director Scott McMillan said the airline travels to remote areas of Australia and sees first-hand the need for assistance by families in regional and remote areas, as well as capital cities.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Foodbank Queensland, as the state’s largest and most-trusted hunger relief charity,” McMillan said. “We look forward to supporting them in the fight against hunger and to help make an impact to the lives of many Queenslanders.”
Find out more about the work of Foodbank Australia HERE. ✈
