Wide Bay Kids has launched FOOD: Help Happens Here, a Bundaberg-wide initiative designed to strengthen food security through simple, local and stigma-free support for families and neighbourhoods.
Funded through Feeding Queensland Kids and supported by Foodbank Queensland, SecondBite | FareShare, OzHarvest and the Queensland Government, the initiative focuses on practical, community-led responses to food insecurity across the Bundaberg region.
FOOD: Help Happens Here has been shaped by local conversations and lived experience. With rising living costs, transport challenges and limited access to affordable fresh food affecting many households, families have shared that support needs to feel close to home, familiar and easy to access. In response, the program centres on neighbourhood-based solutions that reduce barriers and strengthen local connection.
At the heart of the initiative are Help Happens Here Community Pantries. These are small, open-access food shelves located within trusted community spaces such as schools, neighbourhood hubs, sporting clubs and community organisations. People can take what they need, when they need it, with no forms, no appointments and no questions asked. The aim is to provide practical, dignified support while reducing stigma and making help part of everyday community life.
The initiative also supports Community Food Champions – local people who help keep food support visible, welcoming and connected. Champions may assist with coordinating or checking in on pantries, sharing information about food support, encouraging people to access services, or supporting activities such as cooking classes and healthy food events. The role is flexible and designed to reflect local strengths, interests and capacity.
Free community cooking classes form another key part of FOOD: Help Happens Here. These classes focus on simple, affordable meals and everyday cooking skills, while also creating opportunities for social connection. Cooking classes help build confidence and knowledge around food, supporting longer-term wellbeing alongside immediate food relief.
Wide Bay Kids is delivering FOOD: Help Happens Here in collaboration with a strong network of local partners, including IMPACT Community Services, Educational Precinct Bundaberg, River Nations Indigenous Corporation and Family and Baby Network. These partnerships reflect Bundaberg’s strength in working together to create long-term, community-owned solutions.
Wide Bay Kids President Angela Twyford said the initiative responds directly to what families have asked for. “FOOD: Help Happens Here is about creating more local spaces where community support is simple, familiar and stigma-free. Families told us they wanted support that feels close to home, and community pantries are a practical first step.”
Nancy Oosterhof, General Manager at IMPACT Community Services, said food insecurity impacts families beyond the dinner table. “This partnership allows us to help build skills, confidence and wellbeing alongside practical support.”
Wide Bay Kids is inviting community organisations, schools, neighbourhood groups, sporting clubs and local leaders to submit an Expression of Interest to host a community pantry, become a Community Food Champion, or support cooking classes and healthy food events. Expressions of Interest close 28 February 2026.
