By Aaron Cordy
FOR many in the community packing the kids’ school lunch is a given, and to think that every day there are children who go hungry whilst at school is not something they can fathom. Hunger is the reality for many school-aged children across Australia, with many varied and unique reasons behind each empty stomach.
To help combat the unfortunately growing trend of hungry schoolchildren, Eat Up was again back in the region on Friday, March 21, along with their partner Chobani to deliver Chobani yogurt pouches, fresh fruit, and other healthy snacks to local students.
Eat Up founder, Lyndon Galea visited Wilmot Road Primary School along with representatives from Chobani to distribute the goods.
“Excitingly, with the incredible support of Chobani, we’re able to deliver snacks to regional areas of Victoria. So, we’ve got Chobani Yogurt pouches, Heinz beans, apples and SPC fruit cups to regional areas of Victoria. These go together with our cheese toasties and make our lunches more nutritious than they’ve ever been before, for kids who sadly, often come to school without food from home,” said Lyndon.
“We’ve regularly been delivering our cheese toasties to regional areas of Victoria, but it’s been difficult for us to deliver amazing snacks to these areas, just because of the logistics element of it. And thanks to Chobani, we’ve been able to cover the funding required to get refrigerated items like the yogurt pouches and snacks from our amazing in-kind partners from Melbourne to regional areas.”
Chobani founder and global CEO, Hamdi Ulukaya believes that a company can strengthen communities and change lives for the better, which is why they believe in initiatives like Supporting Nutritious Lunches for Regional Schools, which allows them to partner with Eat Up.
“At Chobani, we believe that food can be a cause for good and that every child deserves access to nutritious food, no matter where they’re from or what their circumstances are. So, by partnering with an organisation like Eat Up. We know that we’re ensuring kids in regional communities especially have the food they need to grow, learn and thrive,” said Chobani Social Impact Manager Adisa Hubanic.
“This year, we’ll be committing to 35,000 pouches to our regional communities. Through this initiative with Eat Up. We’re working with Shepparton, Ballarat and Bendigo.”
With the aid of partners like Chobani, Eat Up can reach more schools in need, but the problem isn’t going away with the cost-of-living crisis continuing to affect more families around the country. Over the past year, demand for Eat Up lunches in regional Victoria has surged, with 75 per cent of schools reporting increased need and 26 per cent more students accessing meals each week.
If you want to make a difference in the lives of hungry children, visit www.eatup.org.au and donate, or better yet, organise a fundraising event.
