Addi Road Food Relief & Rescue

At Addi Road, we believe access to safe, nutritious and culturally appropriate food is a human right.

Our Addi Road Food Pantry helps you stretch your budget and put healthy food on the table, while reducing your carbon footprint.

We rescue 8 tonnes of food every week

We sell packaged goods at very low cost. As soon as you spend $5 or more we offer free fruit, vegetables and bread.

We are supported by a fantastic team of volunteers, staff, partner organisations and business donors.

Who can shop at the Addi Road Food Pantry?

Everyone is welcome. Whatever your financial situation, if you’re looking for low cost groceries or committed to reducing food waste, you are helping us keep our service open.

No proof of income or visa status is required. We believe that no one should be going hungry in Australia today. 

Ways to prepare low-cost meals 

We’ve created a Let’s Get Cooking guide with simple recipes, home pantry essentials list and tips to save money when food shopping.

 What do Best before and Use by dates mean?

The Food Authority of NSW sets out some useful guidance on the difference between ‘Best before’ and ‘Use-by’ dates.

‘Best before’

‘Best before’ means the date which signifies the end of the period during which the intact package of food, if stored in accordance with any stated storage conditions, will remain fully marketable and will retain any specific qualities for which express or implied claims have been made.

Foods marked ‘best before’ are safe to be consumed after that date provided the food is otherwise fit for human consumption. These foods can be expected to retain their colour, taste, texture and flavour, provided they have been stored correctly.

Foods date marked ‘best before’ may be sold after this date, provided the food is not deteriorated or perished.

Examples of foods frequently marked ‘best before’ include canned foods, cereals, biscuits, sauces, chocolate, sugar, flour and frozen foods.

‘Use by’

‘Use by’ means the date, which signifies the end of the estimated period, if stored in accordance with any stated storage conditions, after which the intact package of food should not be consumed because of health and safety reasons. It is illegal to sell food, which has passed its ‘use by’ date:

A ‘use-by’ date tells the consumer the date by which the food must be eaten or thrown away. Food may be unsafe to eat after the ‘use-by’ date expires, even though spoiling may not be visible.

Nutrients in the food may become unstable after the ‘use-by’ date expires, which can have an adverse affect on the health of people who are ill or unable to eat typical food.

Foods date marked ‘use-by’ must not be sold after this date because the food could pose a health or safety risk.

Examples of foods frequently marked ‘use-by’ include perishables such as ready-to-eat chilled foods like smoked salmon, sliced ham, some small goods and shaved meats. They also include special dietary foods that provide the sole source of nutrition.