Latina Fresh Australia has joined the ranks of food and beverage businesses supporting Foodbank Australia as it experiences a significant increase in demand due to COVID-19.
Latina Fresh, a subsidiary of General Mills, is supplying 60 pallets of its Spinach and Ricotta Agnolotti, which equates to around 45,000 meals. The supply has been made specifically for Foodbank, so it is not excess stock.
General Mills has partnered with Foodbank for 15 years. Managing director Peter Everett said the panic pantry buying seen in March and April stretched its capacity “to the limit”.
“However, all Latina Fresh pastas are made in Australia and in collaboration with Australian farmers and suppliers, so we’ve been able to bounce back quickly.
“While we’re donating 45,000 meals this month, we intend to continue to partner with Foodbank Australia to help fight food insecurity in the coming months and beyond.”
Foodbank Australia CEO Brianna Casey said Australia’s hunger crisis was at an all-time high. “The demand has increased significantly, and we’re seeing demographic groups in need of food relief that we’ve never seen before. It’s challenging, and we can’t do it without partners like General Mills and brands like Latina Fresh. We thank our longstanding partners for their support,” Casey said.
General Mills and Latina Fresh join Simplot, McCain Foods, PepsiCo, Unilever, Kellogg, Nestlé and Coles in additional pledges of support and goods for Foodbank Australia since the pandemic began.
