Helping Australians in need
There are a number of food-related issues in Australia that need addressing:
- 1 in 5 Australians suffer food-borne illness each year
- 30,000 are hospitalised annually due to food poisoning
- $10bn worth of food is thrown out per annum
- 1 in 10 people rely on food aid
At AIFS, we can't solve all of these problems... but we can make a difference. Our team cares deeply about providing help to those who need it most.
Read on to learn more about some of the most popular initiatives we've put in place.
Sharing public health information and tools
Our mission is to reduce food-borne illness within Australia by educating, advocating and promoting food safety.
We believe that food safety training and education is key.
That's why we're always producing and releasing how-to guides, posters, templates, videos, webinars and articles free of charge to food businesses and the general public.
Helping to feed the vulnerable
We work closely with OzHarvest, a food rescue charity that collects quality excess food from food businesses and delivers it, direct and free of charge, to hundreds of charities.
OzHarvest relies on donations to fund its operations — and that's where AIFS helps.
For every student who enrols in a Food Safety Supervisor course with AIFS, we donate enough funds to feed two people in need.
For every student that enrols in a Food Handler course, we help to feed one vulnerable person in our community.
Volunteering to help the less fortunate
Through our association with OzHarvest, the AIFS team volunteers regularly to help the less fortunate.
Some of the activities we've been involved in include:
- preparing meals for homeless shelters
- participating in events to raise awareness about hunger in Australia
- collecting and delivering food to those in need
Raising public awareness about food safety
Food-borne illness is not often discussed by the public or reported in the media — until a scandal happens.
Our goal is to make food safety a topic that food service workers and consumers think about before incidents occur.
The AIFS team raises public awareness through:
- producing press releases and media materials
- providing comments and opinions when a problem occurs
- participating in events
You've probably seen or heard of us on TV, the radio, or in newspapers and magazines.