General Mills has extended a supply program run with Foodbank Australia for another year, including the monthly supply of 10,000 Latina pasta packs. The Collaborative Supply Program sees General Mills donate production time and labour to make products for the national food rescue agency every month.
Matt Salter urges other companies
to develop similar programs.
General Mills ANZ managing director Matt Salter said the program relied on donations of raw ingredients from suppliers, packaging, and logistics to ensure a consistent supply of food to those experiencing food insecurity.
By the end of July, the company would have delivered 234,000 meals to Foodbank Australia as part of the program, which began in August 2020.
Salter said: “This year we’re so grateful for the ongoing support of all our suppliers, especially Ferraro Dairy and Primary Connect.
“We strongly encourage other businesses to consider this unique program to help Foodbank Australia as it makes a real difference to our community.”
In Australia, General Mills brands include Old El Paso Mexican food, Latina Fresh pasta and sauce, Nature Valley and Fibre One snack bars, Betty Crocker cake mix and frostings, and Haagen-Dazs ice cream.
“Our Rooty Hill manufacturing plant in Western Sydney will continue to supply 10,000 dedicated meals of Latina Fresh ricotta and spinach agnolotti every month for people in need.
“The Rooty Hill team has worked hard to ensure this remarkable program continues to be consistently delivered, despite a pandemic and broader supply chain issues,” Salter said.
says more than 1m people a month
are using its services.
Foodbank Australia CEO Brianna Casey said partnerships like the one with General Mills were an integral part of Foodbank’s program.
“With rising costs of living and the amount of people needing assistance rising, the value of the partnership with General Mills is immeasurable.
“Foodbank is currently providing food relief to one million people every month. People are doing it tough right now and partnerships like this make sure we can consistently help vulnerable Australians,” Casey said.
Chobani recently launched Fruit for Good, a yoghurt made in collaboration with Foodbank and with all companies involved in the supply chain donating profits and time.
Salter said the Collaborative Supply Program reflected the global company’s Accelerate strategy to “drive shareholder value by boldly building its brands, relentlessly innovating, unleashing its scale and being a force for good”.
“Giving back through the Collaborative Supply Program is just one way we have done this in recent years,” Salter said.
In August 2021, General Mills collaborated with social enterprise Yume in the pilot of Yume's end-to-end clearance process plug in to minimise high quality commercial food waste.
It is almost a year since Salter started in the general manager role, after working for six years in its European operations.
For our podcast episode with Brianna Casey, click here or follow The Food & Drink Business Podcast on your preferred podcast platform.
For our podcast episode with Matt Salter, click here or follow The Food & Drink Business Podcast on your preferred podcast platform.
Click here for our Fast 5 with Matt Salter.
