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More than 700 teenagers recently took time out of their school holidays to provide food to families struggling to afford three meals a day.
Last week at the Melbourne ‘For the Strength of Youth’ (FSY) Conference, youth aged 14-18 from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated non-perishable food items from their pantry to Foodbank.
The youth, including 17-year-old Niamh Foster, packed 38 boxes full of canned food, pasta, rice, snacks, and toiletries for the charity.
“It doesn’t take much to help people in need,” observed Niamh. “I learned that donating only one thing can still go so far.”
Foodbank Victoria’s Community Fundraising Coordinator, Leticia Searle visited the event at Latrobe University to thank the youth for their huge contribution and to help them realise the impact of their efforts.
She spoke of the physical, mental, and social impacts on 4 million Australians facing food insecurity, a condition where an individual or family doesn’t have access to 3 nutritious meals a day.
“One in seven Victorians are food insecure. That could be someone you see on the street, a family member or a friend,” said Leticia.
During the question and answer portion of Leticia’s presentation, one youth asked, “How can we as young people make a change for food insecurity?”
Leticia encouraged the youth to be informed advocates for those who may be too ashamed to ask for help. She also thanked them for their donations and told them how they could continue to give back by volunteering and donating in their own communities.
“All the food that has been donated today will be packed into hampers and given to a family or individual; someone who is hungry, someone who is struggling,” said Leticia. “That’s the impact that you can have on people when you give back and are a little more mindful that there are people in society who are hungry.”
For Niamh and her friends, this was an opportunity to demonstrate their faith through action. “It's important for us as members of the Church to serve others and to follow the example of Jesus Christ," she added.
Foodbank is the largest food relief organisation in Australia. Every month it feeds around 116,000 Victorians via 459 partner charities.
To donate to Foodbank visit foodbank.org.au.