In the lead up to Christmas, 50,000 meals will be provided to South Australians in need thanks to a generous donation from a BHP Olympic Dam team member to Foodbank South Australia.

The donation, from Chad Menzies, Lead Community at BHP Olympic Dam, was possible thanks to Chad’s win at BHP’s prestigious Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Awards, and builds on the already significant partnership between Foodbank South Australia and BHP Olympic Dam. 

Chad’s prize was a US$20,000 donation to a charity of his choice and Mr Menzies said Foodbank was an easy decision, knowing that the donation would go to an organisation that supports those in our community when they need it the most.

“I recently assisted at a pop-up event run by Foodbank, with a number of my BHP colleagues. Helping to get food to those in need was incredibly rewarding, however it was the time spent talking to many of the people and families that gave me the greatest insight into the importance of this work.”

“People were there for many different reasons, though all of them spoke of how grateful they were to Foodbank for their support,” he said. 

The Foodbank SA partnership began as a result of nominations made by Olympic Dam team members and is now in its third year.

Greg Pattinson, CEO Foodbank South Australia, said they were humbled and extremely pleased by the news.

“This donation will be very welcome in the lead up to Christmas” said Mr Pattinson. 

“On behalf of the staff and volunteers of Foodbank SA, I would like to thank BHP Olympic Dam and especially Chad, for this donation. Foodbank relies on the support of our corporate partners to enable us to fulfil our mission of sourcing and distributing good food to people in need around South Australia”.