The story behind Big Bites for Little Bellies

What started as one social media post to help local parents has turned into thousands of students supported across the Gympie region.

When Alisha was helping at her son’s school for reading groups, she noticed not every child had a piece of fruit for fruit break. “You could see the worry on the children’s faces, but also on the teacher’s face as they tried to find food to give them,” she says. 

Wanting to help, she posted a simple offer online: if a child needed a sandwich or some fruit, their parents could reach out privately and she would make sure food was delivered to the school office. 

The response? Immediate and overwhelming. It opened her eyes to the large issue affecting families across the region, and she knew she had to do more. 

After speaking with school principals and chaplains, Alisha learned more about the growing demand for breakfast clubs and food assistance programs. In less than 15 months, Big Bites for Little Bellies has registered as a not-for-profit and has grown into a mission to support children without meals throughout the school day. 

“If they know there's breakfast, fruit break, lunch and afternoon tea available at school, then school becomes a place where they know somebody cares.”

Today, Big Bites for Little Bellies supplies 22 schools in the district. Every fortnight, approximately 500 lunch packs are delivered to support children at these schools. That’s around 300–400 loaves of bread, 50–100 kilograms of fruit, 50 jars of jam, plus Vegemite, honey and spreads, every two weeks. 

At one stage, schools reported that between 60 and 70 per cent of students were arriving without breakfast. With breakfast clubs open to all students, Alisha says, “We do not discriminate and we do not judge.”

Lunch packs also provide much-needed support. Some are used for those experiencing hardship; others are for everyday emergencies where lunchboxes are forgotten, lost, or damaged. Packed with foods typical of those found in most school lunchboxes, each lunch pack from Big Bites for Little Bellies blends in, discreetly packaged and delivered. “We wanted to do it in a way that doesn’t make children stand out or feel different from their peers.”

More than providing a meal, teachers across the region have noticed the difference the support from Big Bites for Little Bellies has had on their students’ engagement and learning outcomes, too. “We’ve had schools tell us that average marks in core subjects like English, maths and science have increased because children are feeding their brains and are ready to learn,” says Alisha. “Children don’t choose where they’re born. They don’t choose where the money goes in their household. They shouldn’t go without because of circumstances outside their control. If they know there's breakfast, fruit break, lunch and afternoon tea available at school, then school becomes a place where they know somebody cares.”

Powered by volunteers who coordinate the picking and packing of school orders and use their own vehicles and fuel to deliver supplies across the region, demand continues to grow for the charity. Community members can contribute by donating non-perishable food items, making financial donations, or volunteering their time to help pack and deliver. 

For more information and to donate or volunteer, visit Big Bites for Little Bellies on social media.