Introducing the Illawarra Regional Food Hub project  

If you’ve been keeping your eye on our socials recently, you would have seen us do a little recruiting and sneakily touch on the idea of a food hub. You might have been wondering, what’s going on there?! Here’s everything you need to know about Healthy Cities’ new direction towards a central food hub designed to support fresh food access, community connection, and local organisations across the Illawarra region in New South Wales.

Why a Central Food Hub matters for our local community

The idea of a bricks-and-mortar food hub for our region is not new. In fact, Healthy Cities has long been in conversation with food rescue partners like OzHarvest, alongside local food relief agencies, community centres, and service organisations, about the need for a central food hub to better coordinate food access and distribution.

This year, as part of our food rescue and relief work funded by EPA NSW, we continued working with our Food Rescue and Relief Working Group and spoke with professionals across the sector. Again and again, the same need surfaced: a physical, central food hub to support logistics, storage, and collaboration.

Every conversation, forum, and data survey over the past year pointed to the same solution, a regional food hub that strengthens local community connection, improves access to fresh produce, and supports organisations delivering essential services.

As Healthy Cities always has, and always will, put people and community first, we couldn’t ignore this need any longer. The Illawarra Regional Food Hub project aims to promote sustainability, strengthen community connection, and foster collaboration across the region.

Meet the Team Behind the Illawarra Food Hub

We are excited to welcome our Regional Food Hub Project Manager, Melinda Lawton, to the Healthy Cities Australia team. Melinda will focus solely on bringing this community-led food hub vision to life, with a strong emphasis on supporting locals, organisations, and communities who will directly benefit from improved access to fresh, healthy food.

The Current Challenge Facing Food Relief in the Illawarra

More than 40 food relief and rescue organisations currently operate independently across the Illawarra, each managing limited resources, storage, and logistics. This fragmented system restricts their ability to meet growing demand and to efficiently capture surplus food, including fresh food, vegetables, fruit, meat, bread, and frozen foods, from local producers, retailers, and hospitality venues.

As demand continues to grow due to Australia’s cost-of-living pressures and increasing domestic violence incidence, so too does the time and cost these organisations dedicate to coordinating food relief. This reduces their capacity to deliver other essential services such as mental health support, housing referrals, social connection programs, and family support services.

“It is heartbreaking that entire food operations remain unfunded, under-resourced, and reliant on donations, volunteers, and week-to-week deliveries. The need is undeniable, but without permanent resources, sustainable impact remains just out of reach.” – Community Centre Manager, ‘Food is the Glue: Community Centres in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven Use Food as a Gateway to Supporting Wellbeing & Connection’ 

The challenge isn’t a lack of food, it’s a lack of infrastructure, coordination, and central access.

The Illawarra Regional Food Hub Vision

Over the next few years, Melinda will work alongside our Fair Food Coordinator, Grace, and external partners to establish a central food hub that coordinates, stores, and redistributes rescued food across the region.

This regional food hub will:

• Centralise food collection, refrigeration, and distribution
• Improve logistics for food rescue organisations
• Strengthen collaboration between community organisations, agencies, and local businesses
• Increase access to fresh, affordable food for people who need it most

By acting as a central food hub, the project will also make it easier for local producers, retailers, and hospitality venues to donate surplus food efficiently, reducing waste while supporting community wellbeing.

The result? More food saved from landfill, lower costs for organisations, and better access to nutritious food for locals.

Learning from Successful Food Hubs Across Australia

We know this model works. Across New South Wales, the Central Coast, and Australia more broadly, central food hubs have proven to be the most effective way to scale food rescue and distribution.

To see this in action, we visited FareShare’s food hub in Brisbane. Each year, FoodBank delivers more than 500,000kg of rescued food, which FareShare transforms into over 30,000 meals every week. Seeing this operation firsthand showed us the real impact a well-designed central food hub can have on communities.

Introducing Melinda Lawton – Regional Food Hub Project Manager

1. Tell us a little about your background.  

I’ve spent my career bringing people and projects together across community development, design, and infrastructure. I love turning great ideas into action and seeing projects make a real difference. Alongside this role, I’m also a local councillor in Kiama and the Global Chair of the Steering Committee for the Alliance for Healthy Cities, collaborating with communities around the world to create fairer, more sustainable places to live. 

1. Why do you think a Food Hub is so crucial for the Illawarra?  

A Food Hub in our Illawarra region will be a real game changer for our region. It’s about connecting local growers, producers, and community organisations so more people can access fresh, affordable food, while supporting local jobs and reducing waste. It’s a practical, positive step towards a stronger regional food system that looks after both people and the planet. 

2. What drew you to the Regional Food Hub Project Manager role? 

This project brings together everything I’m passionate about — community, collaboration, and sustainability. It’s a chance to co-design something that really works for our area and leaves a lasting impact. 

3. What will you be working on first as you begin this project?  

Over the next few months, I’ll be working with local partners to conduct a feasibility study, shape the business case, explore potential sites, and make sure the Food Hub reflects our community’s needs and ideas. I’m really looking forward to meeting more of you and hearing your thoughts as we build this exciting project together. 

Stay Connected with the Illawarra Food Hub

Stay tuned for more updates as we continue building this central food hub for our region. This initiative is about connection, collaboration, and creating long-term impact for communities across the Illawarra and New South Wales