Amanda leans in, her eyes brimming with excitement. "Working at Foodbank WA? It’s incredibly rewarding. It’s honestly the best job I've ever had.”
But working for WA’s food relief charity, feeding thousands of hungry school kids and families across the state’s each week, is more than a warm, fuzzy feeling.
It’s the satisfaction of making a real difference. “This is different,” she said. “It’s giving back to my community in a productive way.”
Amanda’s journey to Foodbank WA is far from conventional. For 30 years, she was a skilled hairdresser.
Amanda has also spent some time in prison and faced the challenge of finding her feet once again.
To make things even more difficult, she also battled cancer.
Her journey is a testament to her resilience.
Amanda candidly shares her initial fears of re-entering the workforce after her time in prison.
“When I was in prison, I struggled to think of how I was going get a job and what I was going to do.
“With the cancer, I had no hair at that point and didn’t feel confident to return to hairdressing.
“I wanted to find a job that would accept me and I thought, ‘who's going to do that?’ I didn't want them to look at me differently, and Foodbank hasn’t.”
This isn't just a job; it's a mission. Amanda’s role as Warehouse Assistant began in May 2023 and she admits to starting with little knowledge of warehousing.
“I knew nothing about anything,” she admitted. But she has embraced the learning curve with enthusiasm.
“I think something was just calling me to work here,” she shared.
Having a sense of purpose at work is what fuels her every day.
Every day, the work I’m doing means more families can put food on their tables that night and that’s all that matters,” she said.
Amanda doesn’t see this as just a job, it’s a profound commitment.
“When I was diagnosed, I thought to myself that if this was it, I haven’t done what I wanted to do in this world and I want to give back so much more than I have.
"I felt that for such a long time I was helping the wrong people and I want to help the right people, the people who really need it, and this is the right place to do it.”
Kate O’Hara, CEO of Foodbank WA, said at the core of the organisation is the people who work there.
"At Foodbank WA, we often say that our greatest strength lies in our people,” she said.
“Amanda's journey perfectly illustrates this. Her unwavering commitment to our cause, despite facing significant personal challenges, is a shining example of what it means to be part of our Foodbank family. We’re honoured to have her with us.”
Foodbank WA CEO Kate O'Hara.
Amanda's story is a poignant reminder that working for a non-profit organisation like Foodbank is not just a job.
It's a sense of purpose and community, and the opportunity to make a real impact, even when life throws its curveballs.
It’s about making a meaningful difference, even when faced with personal challenges.
This week, Foodbank Australia released its annual Foodbank Hunger Report, which showed that 388,000 households in WA struggled to put food on the table last year, an increase of 80,000 in the past 12 months.
Of those, 250,000 households in WA experienced severe food insecurity.
Of these households struggling to put food on the table, 120,000 were families with children.
Read more here: Hunger on the rise in WA
By Hearts and Minds
