Melbourne artist raises money for charity with foodie art prints

Melbourne creative Gemma Leslie has designed a second collection of limited edition recipe posters to raise money for FareShare, an Australian charity that provides millions of free meals for those in need. It follows the sell-out success of the first collection, which raised more than $40,000 for FareShare. 

The four new posters feature recipes from Australian hospitality heavyweights Andrew McConnell (Cumulus Inc.), Lennox Hastie (Firedoor and Netflix’s Chef’s Table:  BBQ), Lisa Valmorbida (Pidapipó Gelateria) and Kay-Lene Tan (Tonka). She has interpreted the chefs’ recipes into her signature ‘naïve’ art style, which is inspired by organic forms, imperfections and bright colour. 

“Food For Everyone is my way of bringing a touch of happiness into people’s homes during an extremely difficult  time,” says Leslie. “For me, this project was born out of my love for sharing food with family and friends. Coming together and sharing a  meal is a communal and binding act—an act that is understood globally. I wanted the posters to capture that spirit.”  

By collaborating with some of the country’s best chefs and cooks, Food For Everyone honours those who have made a lasting impact on Australia’s food scene, while allowing people to own a small piece of culinary history. “Most importantly, it puts food on the table for those in need through the work of our friends at FareShare,” Leslie continued.

FareShare runs Australia’s largest charity kitchens in Melbourne and Brisbane. It rescues surplus, quality food from supermarkets, wholesalers, farmers and other businesses that would otherwise end up in landfill and cooks it into millions of free, nutritious meals for isolated communities, low-income families, people experiencing homelessness, and others struggling to get by. 

FareShare is among hundreds of frontline charities and foodbanks across Australia that have experienced a significant increase in the need for food relief at varying times in the past year due to the ongoing impacts of  COVID-19. Many Australians currently experiencing food insecurity expect they won’t cope when the additional Government support via JobSeeker and JobKeeper is withdrawn in March.  

“The support from Food For Everyone has already allowed FareShare to provide more than 30,000 free, cooked and highly nutritious meals for Australians in need. Gemma’s artwork celebrates Australia’s exceptional food culture by capturing its bright spirit and bringing together the industry’s best to generously support some of our  most vulnerable,” said FareShare director Toni Hetherington. 

“As panic buying at supermarkets resurfaces during cluster outbreaks and the cost of fresh food fluctuates during the  pandemic, vulnerable people who live week-to-week continue to turn to food charities for assistance and FareShare is  committed to not only cooking enough meals to nourish those in need but cook the best possible meal for each individual.” 

The purchase of every poster provides 70 meals through FareShare. Each poster is in A2 format (42cm x 59cm) and  printed on paper made entirely from 100% recycled single-use coffee cups.  

Posters are $80 each and available to pre-order online for a limited time from until 25 February 2021.