by Charlotte G (Year 9)
Did you know that Australians throw away close to $8 billion worth of food each year! This is a lot money which makes it hard to believe. A study done by DoSomething, a non-profit organization, asked 1,200 NSW residents aged 16 and older to estimate the dollar value of each type of food your household purchases, but throws away without being consumed. It found that NSW households on average throw away $1,036 worth of edible food each year. They then took the $1,036 and multiplied it by the number of households across Australia to reach the $8 billion dollar figure.
The DoSomething study is just one of many studies being done to prove that Australia is the second biggest country to waste the most food, worldwide. But there are many different charities and organization that are trying to put an end to this. One of these organization is Foodbank. Foodbank acts as a pantry to the charities and community groups who feed the hungry. Last year alone, they provided 32 million meals to many families in need across Australia. They work by rescuing edible but surplus food and groceries from the country’s farmers, manufacturers and retailers which they then hand out to over 2,500 charities and 640 schools. There it is distributed to adults and children in need as prepared meals, food hampers and emergency parcels.
Foodbank’s vision is to achieve an Australia without hunger and they are also wanting our help to achieve this. There are many ways that you can get involved like holding a food drive, donating money or even volunteering.
Find out more about Foodbank's amazing work here;
http://www.foodbank.org.au/
Did you know that Australians throw away close to $8 billion worth of food each year! This is a lot money which makes it hard to believe. A study done by DoSomething, a non-profit organization, asked 1,200 NSW residents aged 16 and older to estimate the dollar value of each type of food your household purchases, but throws away without being consumed. It found that NSW households on average throw away $1,036 worth of edible food each year. They then took the $1,036 and multiplied it by the number of households across Australia to reach the $8 billion dollar figure.
The DoSomething study is just one of many studies being done to prove that Australia is the second biggest country to waste the most food, worldwide. But there are many different charities and organization that are trying to put an end to this. One of these organization is Foodbank. Foodbank acts as a pantry to the charities and community groups who feed the hungry. Last year alone, they provided 32 million meals to many families in need across Australia. They work by rescuing edible but surplus food and groceries from the country’s farmers, manufacturers and retailers which they then hand out to over 2,500 charities and 640 schools. There it is distributed to adults and children in need as prepared meals, food hampers and emergency parcels.
Foodbank’s vision is to achieve an Australia without hunger and they are also wanting our help to achieve this. There are many ways that you can get involved like holding a food drive, donating money or even volunteering.
Find out more about Foodbank's amazing work here;
http://www.foodbank.org.au/