Friends - Jewish Aid

Friends

Friends of Jewish Aid

FareShare began as the shared vision of a broad group of individuals, back in 2001. Steven Kolt, a Jewish Aid Australia member, knew of the work of City Harvest, an organization that rescues food for the needy of New York City. And so “Melbourne City Harvest” began in mid 2001, rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted. Prepared meals were collected from function halls and catering venues about six times a month.

Meanwhile, a group called “One Umbrella”, spearheaded by Claire and Carol Nikakis, Guido Pozzebon and Francisco Valles had also begun rescuing food. With the support of the RACV Foundation, the group cooked nutritious pies in the Club’s kitchen. By late 2001, these two groups decided to merge, and with funding from JAA, a full time manager was employed. At this time, the Pratt Foundation became a founding sponsor.

In 2001 we produced approx 20,000 meals - today over 800,000 meals are produced!

Since 2001 and continuing today, Jewish Aid has provided vital leadership at the Board level including positions of President, Treasurer and Secretary.

Together with our work in some private hospitals and with our relationship with VicRelief FoodBank, Jewish Aid sees Fare Share as an integral part of our Food Rescue and food waste minimisation programs.

Jewish Aid Australia is a founding member of VicRelief Foodbank, which was created as a merged entity of 2 Victorian icons - VicRelief and Foodbank in 2005. As Victoria's largest, independent, emergency relief resource centre, VicRelief FoodBank (VRFB) provides an essential service to all Victorians. Through a distribution network of over 600 registered welfare agencies and community organisations, VRFB provides much needed assistance to thousands of families and individuals in financial crisis or other forms of immediate social hardship. On top of the normal assistance provided, VRFB currently also has a focus on supoprt of drought and bushfire affected regions,

Jewish Aid has a nominee on the Board of VRFB and provides a vital link to the community sector in general and the Jewish community in particular as we work to solve hunger across the state.

Friends of Jewish Aid - Local and Overseas

Jewish Aid Australia works with The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), a community based non-profit organisation, and the largest provider of aid, advocacy and health services for asylum seekers in Australia.	IsraAID is a coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish organizations and other interested parties based in Israel who are active in development and relief work and are concerned about global issues.
Jewish Aid Australia works with CentaCARE Footscray to help members of the Horn of African Communities successfully establish their new lives in Australia.	American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization that helps hundreds of thousands of people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas move beyond poverty, illiteracy, disaster, and war.
MaAfrika Tikkun is a non-governmental non-profit organisation that works toward the transformation of South African communities by caring for vulnerable children and orphans in townships.	Ve'ahavta?s goal is to play a role in tikun olam - repairing the world - through partnerships with the Canadian Jewish community and with non-Jewish and international organizations.
CARE Australia is the largest non-political non-religious overseas aid organisation in Australia. Part of CARE International, CARE Australia has direct or indirect involvement providing humanitarian assistance across the globe.	Tzedek is a Jewish overseas development and educational charity based in the UK. Tzedek works with some of the poorest communities of the world providing direct support to small-scale sustainable self-help development projects for the relief and elimination of poverty.