Meals for the Mob (MFTM) was developed in consultation with First Nations communities and services to provide targeted food relief in the form of free, nutritious and tasty ready-to-eat meals.
In late 2021-early 2022, we ran a MFTM pilot program in four regional communities in Queensland and Northern NSW for a 3-month period. The objectives of this landmark pilot were to:
– Involve First Nations communities and partners at each stage of program development, implementation and evaluation.
– Work with dietetic partners to develop master recipes that the pilot communities find familiar and tasty and which contain consistent and targeted nutrition.
– Increase access to nutritious meals, decrease food insecurity and contribute towards the improvement of diets and the mental and physical health of the recipients.
– Test ‘proof of concept’ for the development of an adaptive food relief program that can address the varying requirements of different First Nations communities.
All in all, the MFTM pilot program delivered 20,850 tasty, nutritious meals to First Nations communities and services, supporting families and individuals experiencing food insecurity.
Throughout and after the pilot, FareShare obtained feedback from community groups, locals, Elders, health professionals and other key stakeholders.
The consensus was that our meals were well received, the program was considered culturally appropriate by all First Nations partners and overall a major success. This was backed up by the fact that all four pilot communities elected to continue receiving deliveries of FareShare meals to help address food relief in their local areas.
We plan to expand our Meals for the Mob program in 2023. Stay tuned for updates.