Danielle Johnson, Corporate Partnerships Officer, Foodbank Victoria

To our wonderful friends at EnergyAustralia thank you so much for your support through the bushfires. Your donation helped provide the equivalent of 97,989 meals going to families in need, just shy of 100,000!

As part of our immediate response Foodbank Victoria worked tirelessly alongside Red Cross and the Australian Army to get thousands of hampers out to the families that had been devastated by the events that unfolded. Since then, we have continued to provide food to our charity partners through the region and have distributed more than 126,000 kilos of food. We know our role in supporting those affected by the fires is far from over and we are in it for the long haul.

Funds raised towards the Bushfires have been invested in a 3-year recovery program developed to support the communities impacted by the bushfires.

This includes but not limited to:

• Regular delivery of ambient stock and newly implemented purchased fresh food program to the regions.
• Developing a hamper program that includes food education; providing recipe cards & nutritional information together with the produce.
• We are scheduling regular Farms to Families markets in the region at Bairnsdale & Lakes Entrance.
• We are also planning a large community event to encourage people from all around Victoria to come and visit East Gippsland region, to give back to community and provide a boost to the local economy.

We cannot thank you enough for your continued support. None of this would have been possible without you. Stepping up at a time that we needed you most to support families across the state shows your dedication to the cause and we are forever grateful.