Christmas can be one of the toughest times of the year, living expenses increase, families experience increased pressures and many people encounter other circumstances that restrict their capacity to meet the basic needs including food.

"MORE THAN FOUR MILLION AUSSIES HAVE EXPERIENCED FOOD INSECURITY IN THE LAST YEAR." - The Foodbank Hunger Report

After ten years, the appeal has collected 95,000 kgs of non-perishable food and thousands of dollars for grocery gift cards. Through large-scale community support and corporate sponsorship, the appeal has collected and distributed more than $380,000 of food to more than 4,000 households across Southern Queensland.

While Christmas is a fading memory for most, the memory of how this year's donations made a difference will never fade for those who were supported.

Helen Keller is famous for having once made the statement; "Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much". This statement rings as true today as it did when it was first published and few things better sum up what makes the Loads of Love Appeal such an amazing initiative.

"ALONE WE CAN DO SO LITTLE BUT TOGETHER WE CAN DO SO MUCH." - Helen Keller

The Loads of Love Appeal is nothing without the support of the community as a whole and simply wouldn't run without the participation of our partners, sponsors, collection points and volunteers.

In 2020 we worked with more than 50 collection points, over 60 volunteers and more than 1,000 contributors to collect 22,286 kilograms of non-perishable food. Together we were able to support more than 780 families, or more than 2,900 people who were doing it tough across South West Queensland, the South Burnett and Bundaberg.

We'd like to thank our appeal partners Robertson Scannell, Heritage Bank and Harvey Norman Toowoomba without who, we'd never be able to run this vital appeal. Also, special thanks to our major sponsors and sponsors; Grand Central, Triple M Darling Downs, Serengeti Print Group, Foxtail Productions and Clifford Gouldson Lawyers.

Finally, our deepest thanks go out to the people who dug deep and made a contribution to the Loads of Love Appeal 2019.