Thanks to our Coles Community Food with SecondBite program, fresh produce bound for landfill is feeding hungry Australians. It’s a startling statistic – 1.2 million Australians don’t have access to affordable, safe and nutritious food. But through our partnership with SecondBite, a national not-for-profit food rescue organisation, 1.9 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables and bakery goods have been donated by Coles to food agencies. They distribute or cook the food and serve to the hundreds of thousands of people in need of a well-balanced, nutritious diet.
The program runs in two different ways; in metropolitan areas the food is transported in refrigerated SecondBite vans from Coles stores to the food agencies, while in regional areas, SecondBite arranges for local agencies to collect the food directly from our stores under SecondBite’s innovative Community Connect model.
Last week, Curtis Stone visited the SecondBite team in Queensland and got to see the work they do first-hand and meet some of the people the program assists. Below are some of the photos from the day:
To find out more about the program, visit coles.com.au and to find out more about the great work SecondBite do, visit secondbite.org.
This December marks the first anniversary of our national fresh food program, Coles Community Food with SecondBite. We’re proud to say that in the last year alone, we have donated nearly 1.5 million kilograms of fresh fruit, vegetables and bakery items, making it possible for community groups to provide nearly 3 million meals to Australians in need.
million people who do not have access to affordable food. Through our partnership with SecondBite, we are able to assist many small Australian charities in providing regular fresh, nutritious and healthy meals to those who need it most. To celebrate the program’s first birthday, our Coles ambassador and chef, Curtis Stone came along to meet and cook with our hardworking SecondBite volunteers.
Have you ever wondered what happens to excess fruit and veg at the end of the day? Through our Coles Community Food with SecondBite program, we are committed to donating surplus healthy, fresh fruit and veg and bakery items to charities all around Australia. This helps to provide much needed meals to the almost 1.2 million Aussies in need. Over the next two years, this food will help provide over 5 million meals to those who don’t have access to a safe, regular and affordable food supply.
As part of our partnership with not for profit fresh food rescue organisation, SecondBite, Coles is launching a special, limited edition re-usable shopping bag available in metropolitan stores from July 9 to August 12. For every “heart bag” sold during this period, 50 cents will be donated to SecondBite to put healthy fresh meals on the table for people in need. Coles Community Food with SecondBite is a national program with a local focus and has committed to provide more than 5 million meals over the next two years. So, keep an eye out for the heart bag which costs $2.50 and raises funds for a great cause. 
