Working together to save every bite

Belmont Forum – a prime food and retail shopping destination in Perth owned by the Perron Group, was the first retail centre in Australia to partner with SecondBite – a non-profit organisation, involved in rescuing food to feed the needy.

Since 2019, Belmont Forum secures end of day produce, including bruised or odd shaped fruit and vegetables, which is stored in a commercial refrigerator. SecondBite volunteers visit the shopping centre each morning to collect the rescued food, that often include anything from fresh and juicy mangoes, to bags of carrots, salad or wraps.

In 2020, Belmont Forum’s customers supported the cause and in the lead up to Christmas responded to an increased demand for community donations. The centre’s customers generously donated a whopping 835 kilos of non-perishable items in just 1 month.

These donations were placed in the SecondBite donation station located in the centre mall. Due to the communities generosity, this donation station is now permanently located in the fresh food precinct and continues to accept daily donations from customers.

Since the program commenced, Belmont Forum retailers and shoppers have donated over 11,500 kgs of produce.

The food collected by SecondBite is sorted and distributed to more than 250 partners, including local charities, orphanages, centres for homeless, shelters and rehabilitation centres.

Further extending this partnership into the immediate local community, Belmont Forum introduced one of their local schools to SecondBite. This school now receives enough daily fresh produce from SecondBite to support a breakfast kitchen, feeding students who come to school without having had breakfast. This breakfast kitchen provides students with the basic nutrients essential to improve concentration and enhance cognition throughout the day.

In addition to the daily collection, Belmont Forum's Centre Management Team are committed to SecondBite, with each member volunteering across initiatives like the Christmas gift wrap stations, or Bunnings sausage sizzle, or by sorting produce at their warehouse - all aiding SecondBite to increase awareness and raise much needed funds.

Belmont Forum continues to exceed its donation goal for FY21 and is now targeting 8,000 kgs of food for FY22.

Australia has set a goal to halve its food waste by 2030. The partnership between Belmont Forum and SecondBite is a step in that direction.

It is estimated that every year around 7.3 million tonnes of food goes to bins in the country, equal to 300 kg per person. This food waste accounts for more than 5% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and costs around $20 billion to the economy, annually.

JLL’s retail asset management team has partnered with Perron Group, providing management services to their shopping centre for over a decade.