Foodbank to expand operations into the Pilbara as food insecurity rises across the State

Foodbank WA has announced it will expand its operations into the Pilbara as food insecurity in the remote far north region continues to rise. The not-for-profit’s chief executive, Kate O’Hara, revealed planning for the expansion into the Pilbara was in progress at an inquiry into child food insecurity in WA on November 15. “After the feasibility analysis in the Pilbara area, we have decided to go into Newman and we have a three-phase plan mapped out,” she said at the Commissioner for Children and Young People Joint Standing Committee hearing. “The first phase is to go into the town in the first quarter of 2023 with support from five agencies including the likes of the Pilbara Aboriginal medical services who will help us distribute food.” According to Foodbank WA Food Security manager Roslyn Giglia, remote communities in the Pilbara have some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the State. “There is a lot of research that indicates remote regions in WA and remote communities in the Pilbara and Kimberley are experiencing really high levels of food insecurity,” she said. Although Foodbank WA will not expand into Newman until 2023, they currently run School Breakfast Programs in the Pilbara. But delivering food to schools in the remote Northwest can prove difficult Ms O’Hara said, where large expanses need to be crossed with minimal road infrastructure. “People don’t know the scope and scale of WA or appreciate what it means to deliver to a community school in Kununurra, Jigalong or Warburton which has no bitumen road access,” she said. As the cost of living continues to rise, the Pilbara is not the only region struggling with food insecurity, with demand for Foodbank services increasing across the State. “For us, the escalation of need across all sectors is scaring us, to be honest,” Ms O’Hara said. According to Ms O’Hara, WA had the largest percentage of employed people accessing their services in Australia with 59 percent of those coming to Foodbank WA being employed full-time, part-time or casually.