Should Charity begin at home? Often misused by people who don't want to donate, nevertheless it is clear that there is a very pronounced need right here on our doorstep.
A member of the Rotary Club of Brisbane Centenary, Andrew Rodgers (picture above left with President Elect Jo Gorman) heard a guest speaker from the Foodbank organization at their club. Foodbank is Australia's largest non-profit distributor of food for the disadvantaged - they are a conduit between the industry's surplus food and the welfare sector. Andrew asked him how they get along for meat? "We never get beef!" was the answer.
So Andrew and his club set out to organize 'Beef Bank'. The concept is really simple: farmers, auctioneers, abattoirs, butchers, transport companies etc support the project by donating or supplying beef and their services at the lowest cost. People donate money, participate in their annual Fun Run (coming up on 27th May 2018) and Beef Bank buys cattle. In the 10 years since its inception, they have supplied nearly 500,000 meals! The statistics get better year on year: in 2016 they delivered 48,000, in 2018 they aim for 150,000 meals! Is it needed? More than ever: Just in the last 12 months, Foodbank reports an increase in requests by Community Support groups of 11%. On average, one out of 30 children go hungry.
One cow yields about 250 Kg of meat, which translates to about 2,500 meals, at 45 cents a serve. Beef Bank is a registered charity and any donations over $2.00 are fully tax deductible. Further, as is the case with most Rotary projects, there are no overheads since all directors and administration is done on an unpaid basis.
Download a full run down of the Beef Bank concept from the download section on the right.