Australia’s leading food rescue organisation, SecondBite, is hosting its inaugural Million Meals Day on World Food Day Wednesday, 16 October, and is calling for donations to help it raise enough funds to provide the equivalent of one million meals to feed vulnerable Australians.

Donating $1 to SecondBite provides up to five meals for people who are experiencing hunger; however, all donations received from now until Million Meals Day will go twice as far, with SecondBite partners matching them dollar for dollar, up to $100,000.

Million Meals Day arrives as new YouGov research reveals more Australians are food insecure, and the number is growing. In the past 6 months, almost six in ten Australians (56%) say they have had to make difficult choices between buying food and paying for other expenses, due to limited financial resources. That’s more than 14 million Aussies who are struggling to make ends meet.

Daniel Moorfield, SecondBite | FareShare CEO, said, with this year’s World Food Day theme being ‘right to foods for a better life and a better future,’ the Million Meals Day fundraiser seeks to action this call.

Related: Groundbreaking merger between SecondBite and FareShare

“Support for SecondBite’s Million Meals Day will help ensure that fewer people in our communities – they may be your neighbours, friends, or colleagues – have to make the heart-wrenching decision between buying food and paying for other essential expenses. With the need for food relief growing dramatically across the country, Million Meals Day helps to address this challenge,” he said.

On the day, SecondBite staff and volunteers will turn SecondBite’s Abbotsford HQ into a hive of activity, with a community of wonderful supporters hosting a telethon, making and receiving calls to process donations. SecondBite Ambassadors – food writer and TV personality Matt Preston and celebrity chef Tobie Puttock, as well as SecondBite co-founder Simone Carson, will be joining the team throughout the day to lend their support.

The research also found in the past six months, 30%, or approximately six million Aussies, have skipped a meal to save money. Gen Z is the most likely to be skipping meals in the current cost-of-living crisis, with a staggering 48% stating they have done so in the past six months.

Food is often a gateway to link those doing it tough with other essential services like healthcare, financial support, counselling, and housing assistance. The social connections and results gained through these programs can be life-changing.

“Million Meals Day is not just about food relief, it’s about transforming lives. Food brings people together and starts a conversation. This movement hopes to create the momentum to enable SecondBite to have an even greater positive impact on the lives of more Australians. We warmly welcome the support of all those Australians who are in a position to contribute,” said Matt Preston, food writer & TV personality; and SecondBite Ambassador.