General Mills is using its Rooty Hill plant to tackle food insecurity through its partnership with charity Foodbank.
The ongoing partnership has resulted in a new template for pooling resources to better enable collaborations throughout the supply chain to boost food donations.
And in a new development, General Mills will donate the time and labour of its western Sydney plan to produce 10,000 Latina Fresh pasta meals per month for the next year.
These will be made from donated raw ingredients, such as ricotta from Ferraro Diary Foods, and packaging, ensuring Foodbank can maximise its services.
Since the onset of COVID-19, Foodbank has seen a large increase in the number of people seeking assistance. Building on an already high rate of one in five Australians facing food insecurity.
Foodbank Australia’s General Manager – National Supply Chain, Michael Davidson, said this model allowed the charity to move beyond food diverted from landfill, which could be unpredictable, to securing a steady, consistent supply.
“We’ve seen this model operate to great success with other pantry staples and are excited to see this further extension of our partnership with General Mills come to life,” Mr Davidson said.
“As a world-leader in this field, and the only foodbank globally to be driving a collaborative supply program with food and grocery industry partners, this really sets the standard for other manufacturers and foodbank organisations. It will have a tremendous impact on ensuring we can provide to those in need,” said Mr Davidson.
General Mills has also provided Foodbank with a AUD$200,000 charitable grant to help it cope with the spike in demand through the pandemic.