While many of us celebrate the festive season, drought and fire are wreaking a devastating effect on some Australian farmers.
Foodbank Queensland benefits from the largesse of primary producers and recognises an opportunity to reciprocate when times are tough.
The ‘Buy a Bale’ campaign was established to raise much-needed funds for drought stricken graziers throughout Queensland. As a joint initiative of Aussie Helpers and The Give Back Campaign, the initiative has so far, bought 1,000 tonnes of hay, most of which has gone to assist in keeping breeding stock alive.
Aussie Helpers is a not-for-profit charity that was established by Nerida and Brian Egan in 2002 to help fight poverty in the bush. Crop failures and financial pressure amongst the farming community, where a sense of stoicism is expected, often goes unspoken and results in severe depression and suicide.
Voted 2008 Senior Australian of the Year, Brian says farmers need help to get back on their feet and the flow-on will benefit rural communities and country towns.
During the past year the program has helped more than 3,000 farming families, with more than 4,000 tonnes of stock or 200 semi-trailer loads given away, and more than 1.5 million kilometres travelled by volunteers to assist these farming families.
“The majority of the people Aussie Helpers deal with would not ask for help or expect it,” Brian said. “The saying that ‘giving is receiving’ is so true. The rewards are the hugs, the kisses, the handshakes, and the tears from people who thought the world had passed them by.”
Brian insists that if it wasn’t for Foodbank Queensland, the organisation wouldn’t be in the position to help thousands of rural families.
“In the 11 years of operating, Aussie Helpers has been supported by Foodbank Queensland for close to a decade,” Brian said. “It would have been quite impossible to have done this without Foodbank’s assistance. I encourage all food producers to support Foodbank with surplus stock, as I know the donated products go to where they are supposed to — helping people in need.”
In 2013, Foodbank Queensland distributed food to the equivalent of over 13 million meals and is a part of the nation’s largest hunger relief organisation, Foodbank in Australia.
Digital Tsunami has supported Foodbank in Australia on a pro bono basis for 13 years, as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative. This support has included the development, hosting and technical support of web presence at national and state levels. Recently a new website was launched for Foodbank Queensland.
More information is available at:
aussiehelpers.org.au
buyabale.com.au
foodbankqld.org.au
thegivebackcampaign.com