A case study by CHEP in partnership with Montague and Foodbank Australia.
Australia – 28 November 2022
Since 1948, family owned and operated business, Montague, has been providing Australia and the world with fresh apples, pears, stone fruit, grapes, and exotic fruits.
With people firmly at its core, Montague has taken a vow to support Australians in need and is actively supporting Foodbank as they aid those facing hunger. With the support of CHEP who provide the equipment to move the produce, these organisations have banded together, all in the name of food security.
Joanna Frith, Account Manager, Exports and Imports at Montague has been working with CHEP to ensure continued supply of fresh produce, via Foodbank, to those most in need. “Supporting our community through ensuring fresh produce is available to everyone, everywhere, has always been part of our values, our culture. Our longstanding partnership with CHEP and Foodbank help us do just that.”
As Australia’s largest hunger relief organisation, Foodbank provides food relief to more than a million people a month through 2,950 front line charities and 2,890 schools across the country. Last year, Foodbank sourced 48.1million kilograms of food and groceries which equates to 86.7 million meals, or 238,000 meals a day.
CHEP and Montague are proud to be regular donors to Foodbank. In FY22, CHEP provided financial support, volunteering and in-kind reusable supply chain platforms including pallets, bins, and Reusable Plastic Containers (RPC) to Foodbank, which enabled the delivery of over 61 million equivalent meals to people experiencing food insecurity.
In FY22, Montague supported Foodbank by donating over 153 tonnes of fresh produce, equivalent to greater than 277,000 meals to families and households right across Australia.
Sarah Pennell, General Manager and Company Secretary at Foodbank Australia, says “We know that produce and protein are two of the first things to be taken off the shopping list when people are doing it tough. This program enables us to not only avoid perfectly edible produce from going to waste, but thanks to CHEP’s added support we can achieve a program that is sustainable.
On top of regular donations to Foodbank, Montague assists with the sponsorship of specific programs and events. Foodbank Victoria, together with the Victorian Government, provide a school breakfast program to over 1,000 primary and secondary schools throughout the state. Montague is one of the long-standing suppliers to this program, supplying apples (mainly JAZZ™, envy™ and Pink Lady®) and Packham pears.
Australia has experienced significant floods, storms, fires, and droughts in recent years which has put intense pressure on Australian farms. Ms Frith commented, “It breaks my heart when farmers spend a lot of time and money growing produce that they are unable to sell. More often than not, although the fruit may not visually appeal to the consumer, the produce is still perfectly good to eat.”
Through the collaborative partnership between Montague, CHEP and Foodbank, a zero-waste approach ensures that entire crops can be utilised, and good produce eaten or repurposed into meals or juice, thus extending its shelf life and diverted waste from landfill.
CHEP provides Montague with pallets, bins, and RPCs (reusable plastic containers or crates). Apples and stone fruit are packed into CHEP bins straight from the orchard and sent to their packhouse in Narre Warren North, Victoria where they are processed into fruit juice or sent straight on to one of several Foodbank warehouses around the country, seven days a week.
Keeping the supply chain moving is important for Montague, “Getting CHEP bins on time is crucial to manage the time-sensitive 10-day window we have, particularly for stone fruit, from picking on the orchard to the supermarket shelf. Every part of the supply chain journey counts, from picking, packing, warehouse and distribution, and then to retail stores.”
“We rely on having strong supply chain partners like CHEP and Foodbank that understand our business and tight timeframes to get food moving from orchard to consumption.”
“Foodbank and CHEP are great to work with and make it so easy and simple for us. And at the end of the day, we know it is getting to the right people as soon as possible and we are thankful for that.”
Kathryn Crofts, Communications Manager at CHEP, supports the company’s Zero Waste World initiative and helps customers reduce waste in their supply chain through partnership with food rescue organisations such as Foodbank.
“Our purpose is to deliver life's essentials every day, and through working together with Montague and Foodbank we can provide the equipment and expertise to keep goods moving in the supply chain.
“As a business, we are committed to supporting customers in a nature-positive way. Our ambition is to pioneer regenerative supply chains that give back to the communities we operate in.”
Doing good can be sustainable. In FY22, through use of CHEP timber pallets and RPC, the collaboration with Montague and Foodbank has created environmental savings of:
+ 3,537 Tonnes CO2-e (Greenhouse Gas) Emissions – equivalent to 5,307 trees planted
+ 2,018 Tonnes Solid Waste to Landfill – equivalent to 18,488 x 240L wheelie bins
+ 2,363 kilolitres water saved – equivalent to 1 Olympic swimming pool
ENDS
Media contacts:
1. Montague
Joanna Frith, Account Manager, Exports and Imports
Phone: +61 (0) 439675427| Email: [email protected]
2. Foodbank
Rebecca Collins, Marketing and Communications Manager
Phone: +61 (0) 409 786 132 | Email: [email protected]
3. CHEP
Kathryn Crofts, Communications Manager
Mobile: +61 (0) 437 108 844 | Email: [email protected]
About Montague
Montague is a family-owned business that is passionate about fruit and natural, wholesome produce practices. Known by consumers under brands including, JAZZ™, the MONTAGUE tree™, eve™, Smitten®, CROC EGGS™, Ambrosia™, HONEYCOT®, Somomo, BLACK DIAMOND®, Kissabel®, SweeTango® and envy™. People are the core of the business, including family, our team members and all the suppliers we work with. Our passion is to bring natural and healthy fresh produce to everyone at an affordable price. As part of our commitment to supporting others, we have worked with highly regarded social impact organisations for many years. Montague is proud to work and donate to Foodbank Victoria and Foodbank Australia including the annual Hunger Ride event held in March each year. We recognise our fresh produce donations and support is a small step however we will continue to invest resources into these valuable organisations, to which many people rely on for food. For more information, go to https://montague.com.au/
About Foodbank
At Foodbank we believe everyone should have access to good quality food. We’re here for the everyday Australians who are going without. And it’s our job to help change that. We work with 2,950 frontline charities and 2,890 school breakfast programs to get over 86.77 million meals out to those who could use a hand every year. For more information, please visit www.foodbank.org.au.
About CHEP
CHEP is a global leader in managed, returnable and reusable packaging solutions, serving many of the world's largest companies in sectors such as consumer goods, fresh produce, beverage and automotive. CHEP’s service is environmentally sustainable and increases efficiency for customers while reducing operating risk and product damage. CHEP’s 11,000 employees and 300 million platforms (pallets and containers) deliver unparalleled coverage and exceptional value, supporting more than 500,000 customers touchpoints in more than 60 countries. Our customer portfolio includes global companies and brands such as Procter & Gamble, Sysco, Kellogg's, Kraft, Nestlé, Ford and GM. CHEP is part of Brambles Limited. For more information on CHEP, visit www.CHEP.com. For information on the Brambles Group, visit www.brambles.com
