For many people across the Moreton Bay region, the rising cost of living is being felt in the most basic of places: the dinner table.
When household budgets are stretched, nutritious meals can become harder to access. For some, food insecurity is a daily reality. For others, it is a private pressure carried quietly while managing rent, bills, transport, children, work, study, or unexpected hardship.
Through Community Bank Samford’s 2025 September Grant Round, Pine Rivers Community Finance was proud to provide funding to support the YMCA’s Meals on Ice initiative at Camp Warrawee.
The project is a practical and compassionate response to a very real local need. With grant funding, YMCA Camping purchased a commercial-grade blast freezer and packaging equipment, enabling surplus meals from Camp Warrawee’s catering operations to be safely chilled, frozen, packaged, labelled, and redistributed.
Instead of letting good food go to waste, those meals are now helping support people in need. Since the program started, more than 245 nutritious frozen meals have been provided to Encircle for distribution throughout the local community.
Partnership with Encircle
A key strength of the initiative is its partnership model.
Encircle, a trusted not-for-profit organisation supporting individuals and families across the Moreton Bay region, collects and distributes the meals through its established service networks. This helps ensure food reaches people experiencing genuine hardship, including those facing food insecurity, financial stress, housing insecurity, low income, or homelessness.
Because Encircle also provides broader support services, the impact often goes beyond the meal itself. People receiving food support may also be connected with housing assistance, financial counselling, community programs, and other wraparound services.
Silvia Jones-Terare, Neighbourhood Centres Coordinator from Encircle, said the need has grown as cost-of-living pressures continue to affect the community.
“Given the increase in the cost of living, there has been a significant increase in our community coming in every day for a hot meal and food. We are appreciative of the opportunity to work with YMCA for a much-needed program that supports our community. I have no doubt they will love the meals made with love and kindness.”
Graeme Ferguson, Camp Manager at YMCA Camp Warrawee, said Encircle’s role has been central to the program’s success.
“Their ability to connect directly with individuals and families experiencing hardship ensures the food reaches those who need it most. Without this funding, we simply wouldn’t have been able to meet the required food safety standards, and much of this surplus food would have ended up in landfill. This support has allowed us to turn a waste challenge into a meaningful local outcome.”
Pine Rivers Community Finance, through Community Bank Samford, is proud to have supported Bravehearts through last year’s Community Grant Round, helping fund Parent/Carer Packs for families impacted by child abuse and in need of early child protection support.
Created to offer comfort, guidance and practical resources during an incredibly difficult time, the packs are designed to help carers and children access meaningful support early as they begin to navigate recovery.
The project aimed to distribute 200 packs through Bravehearts’ Strathpine Counselling Centre and local Child Protection Investigation Units, helping families access trusted resources during a critical period.
At the heart of the initiative is a simple but powerful idea: when families are supported early, they are better equipped to respond with care, confidence and stability. The packs were developed to help bridge the gap while families wait for specialist services, with resources designed for both carers and children in age-appropriate, practical ways.
Senior Branch Manager Mandy Bell said the project highlights how community banking can help wrap practical support around families when they need it most.
Generosity that Lasts
For YMCA Camp Warrawee, the grant has created capability that will continue well beyond the first round of meals.
The new blast freezer and packaging equipment have given the team the infrastructure to safely capture surplus food, store it correctly, and prepare it for distribution whenever meals become available. It means the program is not limited to a single donation or short-term response. It is now part of a practical system that can keep supporting the community into the future.
This is where targeted community funding can have lasting value. By investing in the right equipment, the grant has helped turn an everyday operational challenge into an ongoing source of support for local people.
Graeme said the equipment has already made a practical day-to-day difference.
“On behalf of YMCA Camping, I would like to sincerely thank Bendigo Bank for their generous support, which enabled us to purchase a blast freezer and packaging equipment for Camp Warrawee. These resources have made a practical, day-to-day difference in how we operate, allowing our team to safely capture and store surplus meals that would otherwise go to waste.”
Michelle Stanton, Group Manager, Housing, Communities and Youth Services at YMCA, said the initiative reflects the value of practical, sustainable community solutions.
“As a not-for-profit social enterprise, the YMCA is focused on creating long-term community value. Initiatives like Meals on Ice demonstrate how strong partnerships, combined with targeted funding, can deliver outcomes that extend beyond a single program, reducing environmental impact, improving food security, and strengthening community resilience.”
Collaboration in a Tight-Knit Community
For Pine Rivers Community Finance and Community Bank Samford, this is exactly what community banking is designed to support.
When local people choose to bank with Community Bank Samford, profits are reinvested back into the community through grants, sponsorships, and partnerships that create meaningful local outcomes.
Meals on Ice is a powerful example of that model in action. It shows how community funding can help purchase practical equipment, reduce food waste, strengthen local partnerships, and provide nutritious meals to people facing hardship.
It also shows what is possible when local organisations work together with a shared purpose. YMCA Camp Warrawee prepares the meals. Encircle connects them with people who need support. Community Bank Samford helps fund the infrastructure that makes it possible.
Because sometimes community impact starts with something as simple, and as important, as a meal made with care.
