20 Years In, Second Bite Now Saves 68,000 Kilos of Food a Week

Food charity Second Bite began with Ian Carson AM and Simone Carson AM loading up their car at Prahran Market and taking excess fruit and vegetables to a local food relief organisation. In the 20 years since then, they’ve gone from saving 600 kilograms of food a week to 68,000.

We’ve long known that supermarkets find it easier to sell apples without blemishes and smoother potatoes that are easy to peel. While some have introduced programs discounting imperfect produce, much of it still goes to waste. Companies including Farmers Pick and Funky Food deliver out-of-shape produce to your door, but farmers are still ploughing imperfect vegetables back into the ground. Second Bite CEO Daniel Moorfield says Aussies are still wasting a third of what we produce.

That’s where Second Bite comes in. The group doesn’t distribute food directly to individuals. Instead, it partners with almost 1100 charities across Australia, redirecting surplus food to feed about half a million people each week. The organisations Second Bite supports assist Australians experiencing food insecurity, including families in crisis, refugees and asylum seekers, Indigenous Australians, unemployed people, low-income households, those at risk of homelessness, students, older Australians and people living with disabilities.

“It’s work that changes lives – and while there’s still more to do, the progress we’ve made together is something to be proud of,” says Matt Preston, an ambassador for Second Bite.

That’s especially true amid the current cost-of-living crisis. According to Second Bite, one in five Australians is severely food insecure right now.

“There’s a big misconception that we only feed the homeless,” says Moorfield. “About five to 10 per cent of the people who need our food are experiencing homelessness.”

Every week, the team hears from families who have never accessed food relief before but now need it – people who suddenly lose jobs and have no savings; parents who skip dinner so their kids can eat. “You can’t miss a mortgage payment and you can’t miss a heating bill, so what falls off? It’s the food,” says Moorfield.

“Without [Second Bite’s] support, we simply wouldn’t be able to feed as many people or provide the quantity of food we currently do,” says Michelle Pinxt, who receives groceries from Second Bite for Narre Warren-based charity Transit Soup Kitchen and Food Support.

“Having a regular food supply means we can plan ahead and space out what we need across the week. It brings a level of predictability that’s essential – we know we can feed the people who come to our door, and we’re not going to run out,” says Pinxt.

Partnering with Coles, as well as working with farmers, manufacturers and wholesalers, has helped Second Bite access more food. In July 2024, it merged with 24-year-old charity Fare Share, which focuses on cooking meals. The merger means Second Bite’s charity partners now receive ready-to-eat meals in addition to produce – a game changer for those who aren’t in a position to cook.

Fare Share, which has continued operating under its own banner, runs kitchens in Melbourne and Brisbane. The organisation works with chefs to turn rescued produce and other food items into prepared meals. With Second Bite’s access to produce and Fare Share’s kitchens, the two organisations are now looking to solve more problems in Australia’s food system. The teams are researching shelf-stable pouches full of reheatable pasta, rice dishes, soups and tagines. Taking these pouches into areas like Far North Queensland at the start of a flood season could help with distributing emergency food when natural disasters occur.

The teams are also working with First Nations communities through Fare Share’s Meals for the Mob initiative, and with medical experts to make meals tailored for diabetics.

In the past 20 years, Second Bite estimates it has helped rescue and distribute food that is the equivalent of more than 350 million meals. But with its new partnership with Fare Share and a growing focus on innovation, Second Bite’s next two decades could be even more ambitious than its first.

secondbite.org

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