Foodbank Friday: Decision Inc. and ProQuest Give Back This October
Give a group of consultants a pallet of food and a stack of labels, and they’ll build a process for it.
That’s more or less what happened when our team spent Friday 23 October volunteering at Foodbank’s warehouse in Western Sydney.
Why Foodbank
With the cost of living still rising, more Aussie families have to make difficult choices between putting food on the table and covering other essential expenses.
Yet at the same time, tonnes of perfectly good food go to waste every day.
Foodbank sits right in the middle of those two problems. As Australia’s largest food relief organisation, it rescues surplus food, sources essential groceries and works with farmers, manufacturers, supermarkets and a network of charities, schools and community organisations to get food to people who need it most.
We wanted to help. Our Community Crew made it happen.
Our Community Crew kicked off in June, following feedback from our people who wanted more opportunities to connect and give back. Led by team members across Decision Inc. and ProQuest, the Crew focuses on strengthening our culture, bringing our people together and building a sense of community within our teams, while also finding meaningful ways to give back to the wider communities we're part of.
Each member takes the lead on different culture and community initiatives, and when it came to organising a volunteering day, Ilbra stepped up to bring it all together. With a real need close to home and an opportunity to make a difference, Foodbank was a natural choice.
Of course, most of our weeks are full of client projects, deadlines and stand-ups. Stepping away for a whole day isn’t always easy. But with the team wanting to help, they found a way to make it work around everyone’s commitments.
A big thank you to Leigh, Andrew, Hana, Regina, Darrshi and Dilini for getting stuck in, and to Ilbra for making it happen.
The day in numbers: 5 pallets, 3,080 meals
We were on food labelling duty and quickly had our own little production line going. Everyone had their role (which we all took pretty seriously), and with each pallet we found ways to refine our process and pick up the pace. By the time we reached our fifth pallet, we were moving so fast that even the warehouse supervisor was struggling to keep up with getting labels printed in time!
And all that effort paid off.
Together, we labelled 4,936 items and prepared 1,711 kg of rescued food. That’s about 3,080 meals for people in need across our communities.
That might be a parent trying to make ends meet, a senior living alone, or a kid heading to school with a full lunchbox.
A big thank you to the Foodbank staff and regular volunteers who do this week in, week out. We were only there for a day, but they really helped us see how much of a difference our contribution makes, and left us even more motivated to keep giving back through our Community Crew.
Decision Inc. and ProQuest’s team effort at Foodbank, Glendenning
Why we do this
Community is one of our core values at Decision Inc. and ProQuest. It’s about looking beyond our day-to-day work and sharing what we can to support those around us.
For our team, it was also a chance to spend time together outside of work, have a few laughs and do something meaningful for the community. A great reminder of what living our values looks like in practice.
Some days that’s knowledge. This Friday, it was a few hours and a lot of labels.
What’s next: Movember
And we're not stopping there! Next up for our Community Crew is Movember.
Our very own Raul is leading the Decision Inc. and ProQuest Movember team again this year, raising funds for men’s health, including prostate and testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.
You can grow a mo, move 60 km across November, or chip in and cheer. Good moustache, dodgy moustache or none at all, everyone’s welcome.
Small acts, done together, go a long way. Here’s to the next one.
