FareShare Brisbane latest: 7 million meals, ‘infinity out of 10’ taste testing, RAP update

This year is just flying by, isn’t it? It certainly seems that way in the bustling FareShare Brisbane kitchen, where our chefs and volunteers have cooked more than 680,000 tasty, homestyle meals (between Jan-Aug).

This productivity has resulted in FareShare Brisbane hitting a major milestone… On 16 September, we cooked our 7 millionth free, nutritious meals for people who need them most – in less than 6 years!

A special shout out to our dedicated volunteers for making this possible.

Amidst rising prices everywhere, it’s reassuring to know that we’re making a difference for those facing tough times.

We have been working hard on other fronts too…

Retort and freeze-dried taste testing and other developments

In exciting news, the Brisbane kitchen recently showcased FareShare’s first two retort and freeze-dried meals. Shortly, we will begin developing recipes for another two meals. 

Our new CEO, Daniel Moorfield, was among the first to try them. He was thoroughly impressed with the quality and taste.

It’s clear that these meals can be gamechangers in helping remote communities better cope with natural disasters and seasonal challenges. But of course, taste is key… 

Building on our initial event with Burringilly, we recently hosted two more taste-testing sessions with Cherbourg Aboriginal Community and Hymba Yumba Independent School to gather crucial feedback.

With the incredible support of the QLD Department of Agricultural and Fisheries team, we presented tuna mornay, pasta Bolognese, and chilli con carne freeze-dried and retort meals to the Cherbourg Council. 

“Could eat every day,” one Council member exclaimed, as a number of participants went back for seconds.

This was backed up by fantastic formal feedback and huge interest from the Cherbourg Council to receive our freeze-dried and retort meals as soon as possible to support community resilience.

Jason (right) gathers feedback from members of the Cherbourg Council.

A week later, we held a session with Year 4 students and the Elders’ group at Hymba Yumba Independent School. The response? Off the charts! The kids loved the meals, with one rating them “Infinity out of 10.”

These sessions are vital in ensuring we’re hitting the right flavour profiles, and we’re thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive feedback so far. 

Just this week, we hit another milestone: we have now completed five freeze-dried and five retort recipe developments and trials for shelf stability. This is a huge achievement, well done to everyone involved! 

Over the next four weeks we will be cooking all these recipes again for sensory testing with over 120 volunteers and community groups during late November. Watch this space. 

Please help us continue our gamechanging retort/freeze-dried meals program

RAP update

FareShare’s First Nations Officer Jason Mollenhauer has been hard at work guiding FareShare through our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) journey.

The merged SecondBite | FareShare leadership team and board has now committed to the RAP journey by aligning both organisations. Together, we will look to move towards the ‘Innovate’ stage, the second of four steps on the RAP journey.

FareShare's First Nations Art by Joe Malone

SecondBite | FareShare will work with key external partners to develop the next iteration of the RAP, while continuing to invest in cultural awareness training for all staff to foster deeper understanding and engagement. 

One of the many exciting facets of the Innovate stage will be the creation of subcommittees within our Reconciliation Working Group to focus on specific commitments, such as media, leadership, events, and advocacy. This inclusive, collective structure will help us make meaningful progress across all aspects of our reconciliation goals. 

A big thank you to RAP community advisor Aunty Ravina Waldren, who has provided us with invaluable guidance and support throughout the Reflect RAP stage, but who has had to step down. 

    Read our RAP and more about our First Nations program

    Volunteers

    We conclude with our volunteers, the heart and soul of
    FareShare.

    FareShare Brisbane has welcomed 179 new community volunteers so far in 2024. 

    Since our last newsletter, FareShare Brisbane celebrated National Volunteer Week with a circus-themed party.

    17 volunteers were awarded their ‘5 years of service’ certificates. 

    8 volunteers were awarded their ‘500 hours of service’ certificates.

    Naturally, there was also plenty of clowning around. It was a great way to celebrate our incredible volunteers.

    FareShare Brisbane relies on volunteers to do what we do. Join the fun and help our chefs cook free, nutritious meals for people facing hardship right now: 

    Join FareShare Brisbane as a volunteer

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