Gift of Bread receives $5,000 7-Eleven SecondBite FeedMORE grant

Gift of Bread in Sydney has a new refrigeration unit on the way after receiving the news that they have won a $5,000 7-Eleven Secondbite FeedMORE grant.

Marcel De Maria, co-founder at Gift of Bread, says the new equipment will help the organisation support more people in need and save more quality food from landfill. 

"An efficient refrigeration unit will provide the necessary storage to keep food safe as we salvage perishable supermarket waste and deliver it to our clients. Gift of Bread supports over 200 clients and reaches 10,000 people every day. Refrigeration is an important tool to help our charity handle, process and deliver potentially hazardous foods safely,” Mr De Maria said.

Gift of Bread is a grass roots charity run entirely by volunteers, ordinary people reaching out and doing the extraordinary with something as simple as sharing bread.   

“Gift of Bread is bridging the gap among those who are alienated from friends and family, who lack informal support networks, and often have limited ability to access basic services. Sharing bread is an important community event that maintains that fundamental feeling of belonging, is socially responsible, makes good use of surplus food. We make the connections that build community as we help the forgotten, the unknown, the vulnerable, the lonely, the isolated, the depressed and the most needy around us,” explains Mr De Maria.

7-Eleven Australia Managing Director, Angus McKay said that the grants are funded through the donations of the 7-Eleven corporate team.

“As part of the Good Cause program, our corporate team members can donate from their regular salary to support their selected Good Cause partner charities. 7-Eleven matches every dollar donated and these funds are allocated to the 7-Eleven Secondbite FeedMORE Grants. These grants give the organisations the financial support they need to expand or grow, which might not otherwise have been possible within their standard operating budgets. I’m very pleased this grant will fund a new refrigeration unit for Gift of Bread in Sydney to help them support people in need,” Mr McKay said.

The grants are a part of a broader partnership between 7-Eleven and SecondBite. 

“We have been working with food rescue organisation SecondBite since 2018, supporting their work to end hunger by reducing waste through the 7-Eleven Good Cause program. We provide substantial funding to support their work and our corporate team members participate in both skilled and general volunteering. Our team have jumped at the chance to put their hands in their own pockets in addition to our corporate funding. Members of the corporate team also donate their time to work inside SecondBite’s warehouse sorting produce. Everyone in the team who has volunteered and donated has really enjoyed the chance to give back. As a business, we are incredibly proud to support the work that SecondBite and their partner organisations do in the community which has never been more necessary,” he said.

SecondBite CEO, Jim Mullan said the grants allow the recipients to fund key infrastructure or new programs.

“Assisting the expansion of our agencies with 7-Eleven’s generous workplace giving program elevates the efficiency of their food programs and, in turn, increases the number of people that can be supported who are experiencing food insecurity,” Mr Mullan said.