Our Laverton and Freshwater Place team event

Ten team members from ILC Laverton and Freshwater Place recently spent some time volunteering at Foodbank Victoria's headquarters in Altona.

The volunteer session gave our team a firsthand look at the incredible work Foodbank does every day to help tackle food insecurity across Australia, while also providing valuable insight into the scale of the organisation's supply chain and logistics operation.

The day was split into two shifts, each offering a different perspective on how food reaches the people who need it most. The first shift saw team members pair up to process picking slips for the day's outgoing orders. This involved finding items on the slip, scanning them and putting the items onto a pallet ready for dispatch.

The second shift focused on reducing food waste. Our volunteers sorted Sumo Citrus fruit on a conveyor belt, packed dozens of boxes of perfectly edible fruit while removing any overripe produce. It was hands-on work and by the end of the shift a few people went home a little sticky, but everyone was happy to play a small part in helping reduce food waste and support families doing it tough.

By the end of the day, the team had helped pack 538 hampers filled with fresh produce and pantry staples, along with 19 orders for Foodbank's charity partners. That's more than 9,633 kilograms of food and the equivalent of 19,266 meals for people in need.

The day also highlighted the important impact of SDA's long-standing partnership with Foodbank. Since 2011, SDA has been a national donor to Foodbank Australia, providing milk and cheese distributed to frontline charities, school breakfast programs and disaster relief efforts across the country.

Supporting Foodbank through both product donations and employee volunteering reflects the spirit of the Saputo Promise and our commitment to helping provide access to healthy and nutritious food for communities in need.