Food for the mob™

ABOUT

Food for the Mob™ is a food production and service business dedicated to creating education, training, and employment opportunities for disengaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and youth. The business leverages existing infrastructure and collaborates with key stakeholders, including the Department of Education, vocational training providers, and employment services, to identify and upskill VET students, work-for-the-dole participants, and early school leavers through a tailored transition-to-work program.

In addition to workforce development, Food for the Mob™ addresses food insecurity by offering affordable, nutritious meals to vulnerable communities. The initiative builds upon the success of the Don’t Let Your Crop Rot program, which operates in partnership with research and agricultural institutions to provide emergency food relief. The business model aims to create a viable secondary market for surplus produce, ensuring a return on investment for growers and pickers while reducing food waste.

Beyond these direct outcomes, the program contributes to broader social and environmental benefits, including reducing the carbon footprint through a shorter supply chain, enhancing biosecurity, and improving intergenerational health outcomes.

To ensure a consistent and diverse supply of fresh produce year-round, Food for the Mob™ is expanding partnerships with growers and primary producers across multiple regions. A collaborative approach is being explored to streamline the procurement of surplus produce, reducing logistics costs, enhancing biosecurity, and supporting the sustainability of the agricultural sector while securing a reliable food source for the program.