Foodbank WA Community Kitchen
delivers half a million meals  

When we moved from Welshpool to our new purpose-built permanent location at Perth Airport in 2014 one of our visions was to build a commercial kitchen which would address food insecurity by providing nutritious meals to those in need across Western Australia, while simultaneously addressing food waste.  

Some thought this was a lofty dream to aspire to. 

Fast forward to 2015 – the Community Kitchen has been established and is in production with the goal of producing ready-to-eat meals that are both delicious and nutritious. Over the years our Community Kitchen has gone from strength to strength with many corporate volunteers returning because they love the impact, they can make in just a day. 

Our Community Kitchen has now made and distributed more than half a million meals, an incredible achievement. 

Our Community Kitchen is a model of efficiency, relying on donations of food from supermarkets, farmers, and food manufacturers. This not only helps reduce food waste but also ensures that the meals produced are cost-effective and environmentally sustainable. 

Together with an army of volunteers, Chef Grant and many, many kind-hearted volunteers have managed to turn donated, surplus food which would otherwise end up in landfill into half a million ready-to-eat meals. 

Each week Chef Grant is dealt the ultimate mystery box challenge, or in his case, mystery pallet. It’s hard to imagine but this means that Chef Grant does not know exactly what he will be cooking each week and with what ingredients until sometimes the Monday morning he starts! Each meal is dependent on what is donated, so while he may plan to cook a traditional bangers and mash meal, it will likely have a twist – such an extra special mushroom sauce (if we get an unexpected delivery mushrooms) or to make his lasagne Mexican – because we have a big donation of nutritious canned beans. 

For nine years now, Chef Grant has coordinated teams of up to six to twelve volunteers daily. Together they prep, cook and package their meals ready to be frozen on a weekly basis so that they are ready for distribution the following week. The meals are distributed through our six distribution branches in Perth, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie, Peel, Bunbury and Albany. They can be obtained in the branches or are made available from our charity partners which range from supporting the elderly who need easy no fuss meals to domestic violence victims who may need a meal in the middle of the night quickly or someone going through serious illness who does not have the energy to cook. The list is endless. 

Chef Grant says that he loves that each day is different and that it’s such a rewarding experience for everyone.

I love the challenge of creating a new menu or recipe each week, it’s always a bit different. The volunteers we get are awesome too. No matter who they are, they just roll up their sleeves and get chopping, it’s brilliant. Once people know why we are here and what we do, they get really passionate about our cause and want to do a great job.”

We’ve made countless meals, but surprisingly it’s the basics that are the most popular. Lasagne, pizza, casseroles, curries, bangers and mash, all the family favourites are available.”

Foodbank WA CEO, Kate O’Hara said, “Half a million meals is no mean feat. This doesn’t happen without a lot of hard work, dedicated volunteers, and passion. Chef Grant runs a tight ship, but the results (and meals) speak for themselves. It’s made a huge impact on those in our communities that need it the most.” 

Our Community Kitchen meals are available in various sizes, meals for one, meals for two, kids and seniors’ sizes and even trays of primarily protein meals which equal ten portions. 

At Foodbank WA, it’s never a one size fits all, we have something different for everyone.