As Shepparton Foodshare goes from strength to strength, its board has become a powerhouse, with four new highly skilled members taking their seats at the table last month.

All from different backgrounds and varying fields of expertise, there is one thing the foursome have in common: they are healthily hellbent on helping the most vulnerable in our community.

The newly elected members, including Carolynne Frost, Seema Abdullah, Lyndon Galea and Lauren Donnellan, were inducted and welcomed at Foodshare’s February annual general meeting.

Active community member and former chief executive of a leading disability/NDIS organisation in the Goulburn Valley, Carolynne has experience in delivering social enterprise projects.

“Life is transitory and we all hope we will never face the anxiety of not having enough food,” she said.

“I feel strongly about the fact that it is a human right that no-one is left to worry about where their next meal is coming from.

“If we know others are struggling, we cannot unknow these facts, and as a community we have an obligation to put our best efforts into addressing what we can with what we have.”

Former City of Greater Shepparton councillor and mayor, and a multicultural community leader, Seema is a professional project manager with experience in the social enterprise and not-for-profit sector.

She believes food is a fundamental human need and a basic human right.

“Addressing food insecurity is not just a professional commitment for me — it’s a personal passion,” she said.

“Equitable access to nutritious food is essential for building a thriving, inclusive and resilient community.”

She said she was eager to bring her experience and skills to the board, contributing to a co-ordinated response that ensured no-one in the diverse community went hungry.

Eat Up Australia founder and executive officer Lyndon grew up in Shepparton.

His charity raises funds and volunteers to make sandwiches to donate to schools in multiple Australian states to support their meal programs.

“Shepparton Foodshare makes such an important difference in a community that I love,” Lyndon said.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to such a wonderful team, organisation and cause.”

Retzos Group legal counsel Lauren is heavily involved in sporting organisations in Greater Shepparton, where her legal expertise is put to good use.

“I joined the board as I wanted to use my expertise to give back to the community,” she said.

“I’m passionate about contributing to the remarkable work and achievements of Shepparton Foodshare.”

Along with the four new members, others were re-elected, including Jan Phillips, Russell Smith, Peter Thompson, Damien Willoughby, Cheryl Hammer and Rod Schubert.

Jeremy Rensford remains the chair, while Jim O’Connor sits in the vice-chair position.

“We are thrilled to welcome these individuals to our organisation and the expertise they bring,” Jeremy said.

“With this skill set and the imminent completion of our new for-purpose warehouse and food distribution centre, we are well placed to continue to provide food to people that need it most across the Goulburn Valley.”

For the financial year ending in 2024, Shepparton Foodshare distributed a record 490,000kg of food, which was a 30 per cent increase from the previous year and its largest annual distribution since inception.

Through collaboration, it provides food to individuals and families living in the Goulburn Valley and beyond who are hungry or experiencing food insecurity.

Since it was established in 2012 due to community need, it has distributed 4.6 million kg of food — or the equivalent of 9.2 million meals — to people in need and has redirected more than 4 million kg of edible food from going in to landfill.

The food is distributed annually to registered emergency relief agencies, schools, community meals programs, faith organisations and neighbourhood houses.

The people supported by these agencies include individuals, families, children, homeless people and people from our multicultural community.

∎ For more information on Shepparton Foodshare, visit sheppartonfoodshare.org.au

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Friday, 28th February 2025

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