Successful recipients

We're proud to have supported 127 community groups across Australia since the program first took flight. In 2025, 47 applications were awarded funding  across Australia.

2025 recipients

MHA CARE - Moira Foodshare - to purchase and equip a refrigerated van for to transport perishable food safely and efficiently to vulnerable communities across rural Victoria.

Mobilise TI - to strengthen the resilience of the Torres Strait region by improving access to sustainable mobility, where everyone can access quality bikes, local bike related services and repair options.

STEM Changemakers - to fund two-month STEM Changemakers' program to girls in regional Queensland for free.

Ability Agriculture Foundation Ltd - to deliver structured peer support programs to reduce isolation and improve mental well-being of regional communities across Australia.

the Y Northern Territory - to cover transport costs for remote young people to travel to Darwin for Youth Parliament camp  to educate and empower young people to be active leaders in their communities to influence positive change.

Clarkefield CFA - to purchase equipment to identify areas of fires that may still be burning that can’t be seen

Fairbridge WA Inc - to develop and furnish ‘The Nest’  wellbeing spaces at both Pinjarra and Kalgoorlie campuses.

Esperance Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Inc - to cover a portion of the building costs for the Wildlife Hospital, a dedicated hospital space for injured wildlife, including orphaned joeys.

King Island Community Radio Incorp - to fund a new intergenerational storytelling project: Island Waves: Youth Voices, Elder Stories.

Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network - to launch the first-ever specialist kangaroo rescue training program in their region

Devon Valley Animal Shelter - to purchase two wildlife ICU units and a medical steriliser for injured and orphaned native wildlife across Gippsland.

Esparq Ventures Ltd - support the Torres Futures program by covering costs of local Indigenous business owners to participate in the program.

Balmoral Bush Nursing Centre - to engage a team of experienced critical care nurses to provide accessible First Aid Training to local caregivers to increase the survival of children.

Sam's Spares Incorporated - to provide 100 refurbished laptops to regional students in need.

1922 & You Inc. - to make their community hub wheelchair accessible.

NSW Rural Fire Service - Exeter Brigade - to purchase equipment designed to deliver water or foam to areas usually inaccessible to fire fighters.

Ocean Heroes - to deliver safe, inclusive, and high-quality events across regional communities to improve the wellbeing of those on the autism spectrum and families through surfing.

batyr Australia - to deliver 6 batyr@school mental health programs across high-need regional NSW communities, including the Mid North Coast and the Central West.

Mirndiyan Gununa Aboriginal Corporation - to support skills development and cultural programming for the 2025 Yalmiyal Gununa Cultural Festival.

Rotary Club of Goonellabah - to support and provide a range of community projects within the Greater Lismore area,

Burrum District Community Men's Shed Inc. - to purchase a carport to provide additional covered work area adjacent to the metal working shed.

Darwin Salties National Wheelchair Team - to support the travel of the team and support with purchasing and maintaining sports wheelchairs that can be taken to communities and other regional areas of the NT.

Gomeroi/Gamilaraay Aboriginal Community Group - To develop an education series and film walk through the Ambulance, hyperacute assessment and treatment process presented by Aboriginal stroke survivors

Busselton Jetty Inc - to provide free of charge incursions to schools and community groups across the region to discover the interconnected relationships between humans and oceans.

Piallaway Progress Association Incorporated - to supply and install a Cel-Fi cellular mobile signal repeater for the hall.

Red Hot Arts Central Australia - to bring two guest speakers to Mparntwe Alice Springs International Film Festival.

The Lake Primary School - to help offset the significant costs associated with a Year 6 Leadership Program.

Delirra Sisters Indigenous Netball Club - to support Delirra Sisters Indigenous Netball Club’s participation in the 2026 National Budgies Indigenous Netball Carnival in Brisbane.

Shire of Manjimup - to support the Future Minds: Regional Youth in STEM initiative across all four Shire Libraries.

Murnong Community Garden - to purchase a water irrigation and wicking system.

Northampton District High School - to purchase and install a high-quality Eve Greenhouse that will significantly enhance the school farm’s growing capacity and educational impact.

Bidyadanga Emus Basketball Association - to support the delivery of weekly basketball competitions and a regional carnival hosted in Bidyadanga.

Got Your Back Sista Ltd - to expand their One-on-One Domestic Violence Support Service, to support an additional 35 women who are fleeing violence and urgently need trauma-informed care.

Doin It For Rural Aussie Kids - to introduce and support the KISS (Kids In-need Santa Sacks) program into Townsville and Toowoomba Health Facilities as well as support the existing program in Queensland Children’s Hospital.

PuipiKak Malu - to support Project MERIT (Mer Island anti-Erosion Revegetation and Integrated Training) - a community-led initiative addressing coastal erosion through restoration, education, and cultural reconnection.

Remote OpShop Project (Circulanation) - to purchase and fit out a truck to serve as a Mobile OpShop and Delivery Vehicle supporting remote First Nations communities.

South East Animal Welfare League Inc - to supply & install new roofing for their Cattery/Office.

Warren Amateur Swimming Club - to purchase an Infinity Start System for the local swimming pool.

Yahl CFS - to purchase a tool set that includes impact driver, drill, sawzall and grinder to assist with vehicle accidents and assist with access for structure fires.

Bokul-Ynee Men Shed - to purchase outdoor machinery such as a ride-on mower, blower, and whipper snippers to maintain the community grounds and cemetery.

Footprints Erina Limited- Erina Community Men's Shed & Kids Shed - to support their Kids Shed program.

Allora Show Society Inc - to purchase a commercial coin operated washing machine and update the shower facilities.

Boambee Rural Fire Brigade - to support in purchasing equipment for volunteer fire fighters.

Stamp out Suicide Yorke Peninsula - to host another 'Mental Health First Aid' session in a regional town.

Cycling Without Age Burringbar - to expand their services and purchase additional equipment for older adults and people with limited mobility to the outdoors through free, volunteer-led trishaw rides.

Tweed District Rescue Squad - VRA Rescue NSW - to fund 2-way portable radios for their local volunteers.

Mackay Cricket Association - to deliver two 5-week All Abilities cricket program in Mackay.

An example of a successful application in 2023: Eat Up Australia

Tell us about your community group or organisation. (150 words)

Eat Up provides free lunches to disadvantaged school children who would otherwise go without. After I read a local newspaper article about kids going hungry at school in my hometown of Shepparton (regional Victoria), I was shocked and immediately wanted to help. I pinched what I could from my Mum's cupboards - bread, cheese, Vegemite, and margarine - I bought some extra loaves and with her help we made 100 sandwiches for the 2 schools mentioned in the article. That was in 2013, today Eat Up supports 623 schools across Victoria, NSW, QLD, WA and NT, and has made and delivered over 2.5 million lunches to kids who otherwise would have been too hungry to learn. We've been able to scale our impact thanks to generous volunteers who give their time to make sandwiches for children in-need in their own local communities. This support extends across regional Australia.

How does your community group or organisation currently fundraise? (150 words)

Eat Up has a diverse fundraising mix made up of corporate sponsors, in-kind food donors, philanthropic grants, and social enterprise volunteering opportunity for workplaces. Eat Up's national sponsors include Accenture, Ashurst, ESR, Nook, Swisse and Xero. In-kind donors include:  Goodman Fielder donate Wonder White bread. Peerless Foods donate margarine. Bid Food donate cheese and use of cool rooms. Chobani donate yogurt. Messy Monkeys donate healthy recess snacks. Philanthropic grant support funds broader operating costs and fresh fruit. In metropolitan areas, our social enterprise workplace volunteering has created strong team-building opportunities for major national and international companies like Amazon, Coles, Westpac, and many more to get hands-on and tangibly contribute to prepare sandwiches that feed kids in-need in the areas their businesses operate. Eat Up charges a fee for these workplace events and we are fortunate to have a growing waiting list for these opportunities.

What is your community group or organisation's goal or mission? (100 words)

Eat Up's mission is to feed hungry students so they can grow, learn, and succeed! Teachers have explained the need to us in very clear terms: When kids are hungry, they can’t concentrate, when kids can’t concentrate, they can’t learn. Linda Richards, Principal, Lalor East PS: Missing meals has a big impact on a child's growth, development, and learning - leading to fatigue, illness, challenging behavior, and poor learning outcomes. Many children come from homes experiencing financial hardship, substance abuse, violence, homelessness or are refugees. Hunger contributes to the disadvantage cycle, with children falling further behind their peers in school.

Describe how you would use the cash component of the grant. (150 words)

Cash will be used to:  Purchase food-ingredients in remote-areas where access to our in-kind donors is not possible. Provide accommodation costs when training/onboarding new local teams/areas - targeting up to 8 additional regional/remote areas over 12-months. Eat Up supports 200+schools in regional & remote areas around the country. We're able to do this thanks to the assistance and collaboration of 20+ community organisations (e.g. Rotary/Lions Clubs, Country Women’s Association, Veterans Groups).  Eat Up identifies areas of high need, liaises with local schools to quantify volume required, then connects with passionate local community groups who generously give their time to make & deliver sandwiches to schools in their own communities. Sandwiches are prepared and delivered fresh, in-bulk once every 3-weeks during school-terms. Teachers identify children in need, defrost, toast, then distribute sandwiches as required (with snacks we provide) in plain packaging, to prevent any potential stigmatization or embarrassment.

Detail how you would use the flight contra component of the grant. (150 words)

Flights to up to 8 additional regional Australian communities to train, onboard and support passionate local groups to feed hungry kids in their hometowns. Flight support will also allow us to engage local business communities more broadly in the existing regional communities we assist, i.e. for funding support and in-kind food donations (e.g. local fruit growers are critical to improve the nutritional value of our lunches). Eat Up currently supports hungry kids in collaboration with local community groups in:  NT: Palmerston; WA: Geraldton, Bunbury, Esperance; Queensland: Cairns, Maryborough, Townsville, Bundaberg, Toowoomba; NSW: Newcastle, Orange, Goulburn; Victoria: Geelong, Bairnsdale, Morwell, Traralgon, Lakes Entrance, Warragul, Mildura, Colac, Bendigo, Ballarat, Mornington Peninsula. Regional areas of need that we would love to start supporting with the support of the Qantas Regional Travel grant include:  NT: Alice Springs; WA: Karratha; Queensland, Emerald, Mackay, Rockhampton, Longreach; NSW: Tamworth, Griffith, Wagga Wagga, Dubbo.

Please detail the marketing campaign you envisage bringing to life across Qantas channels. Please describe how the national exposure will further your organisation's mission. (100 words)

With Qantas' help, we would create a video that can be used to educate and inspire various target audiences including government and community groups about Eat Up and how they can get involved. Additionally, the support would be used to increase the number of volunteers in regional areas.

Our vision is to ensure that no Aussie child goes hungry at school. To achieve this goal, we need to raise national awareness for childhood hunger. Increased national exposure through a joint campaign with Qantas would help us educate the public, funders, and Government about this critical social issue.

How would the grant positively impact the wider regional community? (150 words)

Growing up as a country kid, I was all too familiar with national programs that either overlooked regional communities entirely or offered a watered-down version of their support. Eat Up Australia is the only organisation providing free lunches to students on a national scale - both in the city and in the country. Eat Up offers a simple, cost-effective solution to a complex social problem: hidden hunger in the classroom. Eat Up works directly with locals in-need communities, no matter how remote, to feed hungry kids who would otherwise go without. Eat Up identifies need, provides ongoing funding support, and liaises directly with schools - creating a manageable, and sustainable opportunity for local volunteers to make and deliver lunches to schools in need where they live. Regular lunches: Improve student health & well-being, concentration, learning, and educational outcomes. Reduce stigma and social isolation. Feed 30,000+ regional hungry kids.

Is there any other detail you would like to provide? (100 words)

Our research has confirmed that there is a 28% increase in lunch support needed by the schools we currently support. With recent cost-of-living rises, natural disasters such as the recent floods, and increased food- insecurity, demand for our services has risen exponentially. Children who benefit from Eat Up’s amazing work no longer have to worry. Guaranteeing a nutritious lunch for children who would otherwise miss out has an enormous impact on nutrition & energy for the brain and concentration, and in turn, on the learning outcomes that are vital to our long-term goal of breaking the cycle of poverty and disadvantage.

Past recipients

More information