“I find it shocking in a society as wealthy as ours that so many people still have so little,’’ Barfield says.

‘‘I believe it is a collective obligation to ensure that all people have access to fresh, nutritious food to enable them to have the best possible opportunity for improved health, social inclusion, prospects of employment and equity.’’

SecondBite’s Community Connect model forms the core of the organisation, facilitating the safe redistribution of food from local donors to local community groups, with protection from liability.

“By registering with us they are signing an agreement that the food is safe,’’ Barfield says. “It’s about qualifying safety. If you wanted to donate reheated spring rolls then no, because it’s high risk, but if you’ve got uncooked foods – salads or vegies which have been refrigerated – then yes.’’

Recipient

Back at St Mary’s executive director Tony McCosker is quick to point out the flow-on effects of SecondBite’s donations.

He says it saves the organisation almost $1000 a week which can then be pumped into other re-engagement projects.

He says sharing a civilised meal also gives his clients a sense of normality.

‘‘It gives them dignity to sit down at a table in intimate surrounds like others do at home,’’ he says. ‘‘It gets them interacting as a family.’’

Across town at a small nondescript door in Prahran, men with tattoos, piercings and dressed in chef’s aprons are eager to greet a SecondBite delivery. Chicken, potatoes, rockmelon and dozens of boxes of delicate sweet treats are among the haul ferried into the Prahran Mission’s temporary premises.

Head chef Trevor Rhodes says it is a weight off his mind.

“This means I don’t have to go to the butcher. It saves us. When we had to pay for all of this it cost us $5000 to $6000 a month,’’ he says.

Smiles also welcome the SecondBite van at Prahran housing estate’s Adventure Playground, which runs recreation, education and early intervention programs for youth on the estate. It provides a breakfast program, after-school snacks and hot lunches on weekends for about 200 kids a week.

Team leader Catherine Keatings says SecondBite has impacted every child.

‘‘A lot of the kids don’t have three meals a day, let alone three nutritious meals. (Now) we have parents coming down requesting recipes because the kids liked it here,’’ she says.

“The kids refer to Thursdays as SecondBite Day. They are always excited because they know they will get some little treat.’’

Saving food

Fast-forward to the spring racing carnival and, although the weather hasn’t improved much, the Victoria Racing Club’s attitude towards food wastage certainly has. During the 2010 carnival, SecondBite saved 1.54 tonnes of food from the VRC’s member facilities, such as the Birdcage and the Carbine Marquee. Although the woolly weather means less food than usual (the corporate marquees are better patronised in wet weather), SecondBite food program manager Russell Shields says the excess was less than when it started collections four years ago. ‘‘It means people are getting the message.’’

In September, SecondBite did similar work at Australia’s largest food and hospitality industry event, the Fine Food expo, collecting 2.4 tonnes of surplus food, including a $600 wheel of parmesan cheese.

On the van

Such stories flow freely at SecondBite’s bustling Kensington warehouse, where staff and volunteers are preparing to move to a new site – double the size of the current premises.

Shields sifts through the latest shipment – dozens of vacuum-packed quiches from gourmet food supplier Melbourne Chef.

“Retailers demand four weeks (before the use-by date) on it. It’s fine, but it’s lost its value in the marketplace, so it comes to us,’’ he says, as he holds up a carton of Alan Green’s award-winning free-range Green Eggs. “These are $8 a dozen but they are a bit small to sell to Vue de Monde. He could sell them for 20 cents, but he gives them to us because it feels good.’’

Among the men working tirelessly around Shields is Danny Roe, one of three full-time drivers. He gave up his job as a bookshop owner to work for SecondBite.

As he drives to his scheduled drop-off points for the day, Roe confides the Prahran Mission is one of his favourite clients.

“They do a subsidised meal, which is nice for the little old ladies who like to pay their own way. A lot of people preserve their dignity by paying their $3. At first I thought it was funny, but it brings out a different type of needy who might otherwise sit at home just eating baked beans,’’ he says.

Food donors

When Roe arrives at the Prahran Market, Ripe Organics owner Andy Heeps reaches into a cubby hole at his store to reveal boxes of vegetables put aside for SecondBite.

“When we started here eight or nine years ago, there wasn’t a pick-up place for us, so we were dumping it on a Saturday,’’ he recalls.

“Mushrooms just don’t sell when they get to this colour and we don’t discount here, but they are fine. And these local potatoes, they are the last of the season, and as soon as they hit the light they’ll start to shoot.’’

“My chefs love them because it’s 20 minutes from pick-up to delivery. We’re the beneficiaries of their high standards,’’ Roe says.

Policy shift

A federal government white paper on homelessness released by former prime minister Kevin Rudd in December 2008 mentions food just once in its vast pages – something SecondBite says needs to change.

“Food can be the tool to breaking homelessness. It provides a linkage to other services,’’ Barfield says.

SecondBite is a leader in food security measures and is working with key government stakeholders to embed food redistribution into local government policy and municipal plans.

‘‘For example, when a council environmental health officer is dealing with a food business and talking about their food wastage practices, giving them guidelines of how to redistribute. Like with recycling they give you a bin; it’s educating them about what they can give,’’ Barfield says.

“We want to create a culture where, one, businesses are reducing their amount of waste where possible, two, where food is still fit to eat, redistribute, then three, recycle and compost to have minimal as landfill.’’

Barfield says even though the Band-Aid solutions are still very much needed, SecondBite wants to look at the bigger picture with programs such as its Food Angels, which provides food, recipes and education to people doing it tough before they need to turn to aid agencies.

The six-week program finds out the level of cooking skills and the facilities the client has to cook with. The client is given educational leaflets about nutrition and taken on a shopping trip to South Melbourne Market to learn how to buy nutritional, cheap food.

“It’s systemic change. There is no point giving them ingredients and a recipe for lasagne if they don’t have an oven.’’

What’s next

SecondBite’s work has not gone unnoticed. In October it was awarded the prestigious Banksia Community Grant environmental award for the community group showing the most potential to create a lasting and positive impact. It also won the Premier’s Sustainability Award 2010 – Community (Victoria), and the Department of Planning and Community Development 2010 Victorian Community Sector Award in the category of “new ways to engage with the local community”.

Barfield says although the organisation is proud of what it has achieved in the past five years, much more needs to be done to ensure fresh food is not wasted.

“That kids go to school with no food in their lunch box is just not acceptable.’’

Anyone looking to donate food, funds or time to SecondBite can visit secondbite.org or call 9376 3800.