COMMUNITY COLLABORATION | Bridge Builders Inc.

Working Together to Feed Our Community

At Bridge Builders, we believe food insecurity is not just about food, it is a cost-of-living and poverty issue. While providing practical support is essential, lasting change also requires advocacy, collaboration, and a collective community response.

We advocate on behalf of individuals and families experiencing hardship, working to raise awareness of the systemic issues that drive food insecurity, financial stress, and social exclusion across Mandurah and the Bindjareb (Peel) region.

Guided by Christian values of justice, compassion, and care for our neighbours, we are committed to ensuring that the voices of those doing it tough are heard, locally and beyond.

Our Community Hub

Mandurah Baptist Church | 370 Pinjarra Road, Greenfields WA

Short Back & Sidewalks

Every six weeks, Bridge Builders welcomes Short Back & Sidewalks to our Community Hub, providing free haircuts for adults and children in our community experiencing hardship.

More than just a haircut, this service helps restore confidence, dignity, and connection, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to look and feel their best. We are grateful for this partnership and the positive impact it has on the lives of local families.

Next Sessions:

Monday 5th October | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Monday 16th November | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
January | Date TBC
Monday 1st March | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Monday 12 April | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Monday 24 May | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Monday 5 July | 11:00AM - 1:00PMMay 23rd Janury

Eat Up Australia

Join us twice a term at Bridge Builders for Eat Up Australia’s sandwich making sessions. A hands-on way to help kids in our community.

Together with Anglicare WA - Dudley Park Parenting Centre and Falcon Lions, we prepare cheese sandwiches that are delivered to local schools to support children who might otherwise go without lunch.

It’s a fun, feel-good activity that makes a real difference, no experience needed, just a willing heart and clean hands!

Sessions are open to both adults and children from 3:30pm to 5:30pm on the following dates:

17th August 2026
12th October 2026
9th November 2026

Email admin@bridgebuilders.org.au to register your interest in helping.

Thread Together

Bridge Builders is proud to partner with Thread Together to provide brand new clothing to individuals and families in our community who are doing it tough.

By redistributing new, unsold clothing from leading fashion retailers, Thread Together helps restore dignity, confidence, and hope while reducing clothing waste that would otherwise end up in landfill. Through this partnership, community members can access quality clothing at no cost, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to feel comfortable, confident, and cared for.

Next Session:

Friday 24th July | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Friday 4th September | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Friday 9th October | 11:00AM - 1:00PM
Friday 6th November | 11:00AM - 1:00PM

Peel Community Legal Services

We’re pleased to host Peel Community Legal Services (PCLS) on-site every second Monday, offering free legal advice and advocacy support to eligible individuals in the Peel region.

Whether you're facing tenancy issues, family law concerns, or need help understanding your rights, the PCLS team is here to provide confidential, professional support — right here in the heart of our community.

No appointments needed just drop in or contact PCLS to check your eligibility and secure a time.

Next Sessions:

Monday 17th August | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 31st August | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 14th September | 1:00PM - 4:00PM

Freo Street Doctors

Bridge Builders is proud to host Black Swan Health’s Street Doctor service every second Monday.

This free walk in clinic provides confidential, non-judgemental healthcare to anyone doing it tough, bulk billed, with no appointment needed. Just come as you are.

Whether you need a check-up, script, support or someone to talk to, the Street Doctor team is here to help with kindness, care, and dignity

Next clinic:

Monday 10th August | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 17th August | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 24th August | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 31st August | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 7th September | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 14th September | 1:00PM - 4:00PM
Monday 21st September| 1:00PM - 4:00PM

Why Advocacy Matters

Food insecurity is often the result of rising living costs, limited incomes, housing stress, health challenges, and gaps in support systems. When budgets are tight, food is frequently the most flexible expense, forcing people to make impossible choices between groceries, rent, medical care, utilities, and fuel.

Advocacy allows us to:

Highlight the real experiences of people in our community
Address the root causes of food insecurity
Influence systems and policies that impact everyday lives
Strengthen pathways out of crisis, not just through it

Hunger & Food Insecurity in Our Community

Food insecurity affects people from all walks of life. Increasingly, we are supporting:

Working families
Single-parent households
Older Australians on fixed incomes
People living with disability or illness
Individuals experiencing sudden financial crisis

For many, food insecurity is temporary and situational, triggered by job loss, illness, relationship breakdown, or unexpected expenses. For others, it is ongoing and cyclical, driven by rising costs and limited access to affordable food and services.

Many households seeking help do not qualify for government assistance or fall through the gaps of existing support systems, despite doing their best to stay afloat.

Understanding Food Insecurity

Food insecurity is defined as a lack of consistent access to enough nutritious food for an active, healthy life.

It is different from hunger.

Hunger is the physical feeling of not having enough to eat.
Food insecurity is the set of circumstances that lead to hunger, including financial stress, limited access, and competing priorities.

People experiencing food insecurity may:

Skip meals or eat less
Rely on low-cost, low-nutrition food
Worry constantly about running out of food
Make trade-offs between food and other essentials such as rent, medical care, or utilities

There is no single face of food insecurity, and no one-size-fits-all solution.

Our Advocacy in Action

Bridge Builders advocates across multiple areas by working alongside community partners, service providers, and local networks to strengthen outcomes for those we serve.

Our advocacy and collaboration includes:

Partnering with local community organisations, churches, and service providers to improve access to food and essential supports
Participating in local networks and working groups focused on poverty reduction, food security, and homelessness
Supporting individuals and families to access referrals, information, and pathways to longer-term assistance
Using lived experience and service data to inform conversations around cost-of-living pressures and community needs
Raising awareness of food insecurity through community education, events, and campaigns

We also work closely with other food relief providers and social campaigns to ensure people are supported appropriately and sustainably.

Fighting Food Waste, Feeding Our Community – With SecondBite

Working Together to Meet Essential Needs

Community Partners

Thanks to our valued partnership with SecondBite, Bridge Builders Inc. receives a regular supply of fresh fruit, vegetables, and shelf-stable (ambient) food each week. This vital support helps stock our Community Food Pantry, allowing us to provide nutritious options to individuals and families facing food insecurity.

But the impact doesn’t stop there. With SecondBite's help, we also extend support to other local food relief agencies in our region, including:

Waroona Community Resource Centre | Monday - Thursday 9:00am - 4:00pm @ Henning Street, Waroona
Peel Community Kitchen | Monday - Friday 9:30am - 1:00pm @ 2 Tuart Avenue, Mandurah
WestAus Crisis & Welfare Services | Monday - Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm @ Anzac Place, Mandurah
SWAMS | Monday - Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm @ Sutton Street, Mandurah
Modalis | Monday - Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm @ Sutton Street, Mandurah
Passion Church Community Care | Thursday's 9:30am - 11:00am @ Salvation Army, Greenfields
The Salvation Army, Greenfields | Monday - Thursday 10:00am - 4:00pm @ Lakes Road, Greenfields
New Beginnings Out Reach | Wednesday & Thursday 12:30pm - 2:30pm @ 152 Mandurah Terrace, Mandurah
Chyoces | Monday - Friday 9:00am -4:30pm @ Pinjarra Road, Mandurah

We also supply bread and fresh produce to local schools and breakfast clubs whenever available, helping to nourish children and reduce the burden on families.

As part of our commitment to sustainability, any food that’s not suitable for human consumption is collected by a local farmer and used as animal feed, ensuring nothing goes to waste and keeping it out of landfill.

Learn more about SecondBite’s mission at www.secondbite.org

The Essentials Collective

Everyone deserves to feel clean, confident, and cared for – yet for many, basic hygiene products are out of reach. Our partnership with The Essentials Collective helps us provide essential personal care items like soap, toothpaste, shampoo, and menstrual products to individuals and families doing it tough.

Through their annual collection drives and generous community donations, we’re able to stock our pantry with these much-needed items – restoring dignity and showing care where it’s needed most.

The Nappy Collective

Nappies are a basic need, yet many parents across Australia are forced to go without due to rising living costs. Thanks to our partnership with The Nappy Collective, we can supply nappies to local families who need a helping hand.

Each year, The Nappy Collective runs a national campaign to collect unused nappies and distribute them to community organisations like ours. These donations go a long way in helping vulnerable babies and easing pressure on struggling families.

Give Write

Every child deserves to start school feeling prepared and proud. Our partnership with Give Write helps make that possible by supplying quality, repurposed stationery packs to local children who may not otherwise have the tools they need to learn.

Give Write collects and recycles new and gently-used school supplies, giving them new life and purpose. These donations empower students, boost confidence, and remove barriers to education – all while supporting sustainability.

Learn More