September 2025 marks the second anniversary of Warm Hearts Warm Bellies The Street Ministry Inc. (WHWB), a grassroots food charity that has rapidly grown from a humble idea into a lifeline for over 4,000 families a week across Logan and surrounding areas.
As the rising cost of living continues to place immense pressure on Australian households, WHWB’s mission has never been more vital. As WHWB celebrates this milestone, it also welcomes a powerful new partnership with leading cold chain innovators, the SuperCool Group, whose support will supercharge the organisation’s capacity to rescue quality food destined for landfill and re-distribute it where it’s needed most.
Back row, left to right: Paul Jackson, Logan Division 5 Councillor, Alana Teese (Eurocold), Clayton Nel (Eurocold), Mark Mitchell (SuperCool Group), Fran Moser (SuperCool Group). Front row: Carly Maiden (WHWB), Pete Underwood (WHWB).
Founded by Pete Underwood, WHWB began as a deeply personal mission inspired by her lived experience of homelessness and hunger.
From operating out of a Mazda 6 then to a van with a fleet of eskies, WHWB now distributes over 6 tonnes of food each week via 21 thriving Community Pantries embedded directly in schools, kindergartens, social housing, businesses and community centres. The waiting list for new pantries grows weekly, with requests flooding in from Ipswich, Redlands, South Brisbane, the Gold Coast and beyond.
WHWB’s rescued food is supplied by major food rescue partners including OzHarvest, SecondBite, and FoodBank, ensuring high-quality meals and groceries reach those in need every week.
From Free Food Thursdays that serve up to 200 families, to large-scale Community Days feeding up to 650 households, WHWB also provides essentials like school uniforms, backpacks, furniture and homewares. Partnerships with over 20 social service providers ensure support reaches the most vulnerable, including survivors of domestic violence, newly arrived refugees, the elderly, and the homeless. However, the Community Pantries are the heart of WHWB’s model.
Pete Underwood, Founder and Director, shares where it all began:
“The Community Pantry idea was a no-brainer. The flagship 24/7 Community Pantry we run at Browns Plains Kids kindy is stocked every day with fresh bread, groceries, meat and chilled goods that people in need can access anytime. It has been running for over 12 months now and is very successful. We have other pantries located all over the greater Logan region, and it is my vision that they continue to be a safe and comfortable place where people do not feel shame about accessing food.”
A local barber shop has now expanded its support with a WHWB stocked Community Pantry providing food, clothing, and essential hygiene items to those doing it tough. Samir Farah, Owner of Beenleigh business By Order of the Peaky Barbers shares his story:
“Hosting a Community Pantry with WHWB was a natural extension of who we are. A welcoming place where men, families and young people can breathe out, get a sharp cut, a coffee, and a bit of dignity. We see the best and the hardest parts of life from the barber chair. Putting a pantry on our counter felt like the most practical way to serve the same community that supports us. No forms, no fuss, just help when it’s needed”
When asked how the Community Pantry has impacted the community and his team, Samir adds:
“The response has been humble and heartfelt. We’ve had a young apprentice grab food to get through to payday, a dad pick up breakfast items for his kids and a bloke on his way to a job interview grab a snack and a coffee then come back the next week to tell us he got the job. The common thread is relief and gratitude. As a business it’s strengthened our culture. The boys take pride in keeping the pantry neat, asking customers if they know someone who could use a hand, and treating everyone with the same respect, whether they’re buying a skin fade or taking a meal. Customers notice. It turns transactions into community.”
Eagleby Learning Centre (ELC) has recently engaged with WHWB and upon entering the Centre, you’ll find a vibrant Community Pantry stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables, bread, meats, yogurts and snacks. This essential food is accessed daily by the young people and families who access the service and is also open to the wider community. The staff at the Centre share that the Community Pantry has made such a positive difference.
“We have a 16-year-old student who is living independently and has been accessing the pantry since it first started. This student attends to get food, but also to connect with the staff which has been lovely. He has really come out of his shell. We have seen an improvement in his life skills such as cleaning and making meals from the items he has got from the pantry”, says Collete, Social Worker at ELC.
Nat Millar is the owner/operator of Mums n’ Bubs Logan, a group with over 30,000 members. Nat says “it is so wonderful to be able to offer information about the Community Pantries to any of my members in need of immediate food for free”.
WHWB’s Pete Underwood adds, “This dream of Warm Hearts Warm Bellies is now something I’m so proud of. Every week, I see more and more families and their kids no longer going without. With the incredible support of SuperCool, my vision of a fully functional safe cold chain food supply is now becoming a reality.”
WHWB’s grassroots approach, built on trust, respect and community connection, caught the attention of SuperCool Group. As advocates for reducing food waste and addressing food insecurity, SuperCool has long called for smarter, more sustainable cold chain infrastructure at State, Federal and Global levels.
Each year, Australia wastes an estimated 7.6 million tonnes of food, enough to fill the MCG nine times over, while millions of Australians struggle to access regular, nutritious meals. Much of this food waste is due to breakdowns in storage, refrigeration, and distribution. But now, SuperCool Group is taking its mission local.
“Supporting frontline organisations like Warm Hearts Warm Bellies is where real change can happen,” says Mark Mitchell, Managing Director of SuperCool Group. “Their Community Pantry model is quite remarkable, effective, and deeply human, and with the right cold chain support, their impact can be amplified significantly.”
To that end, SuperCool, with the help of Logan based cold fleet manufacturers Eurocold, has donated a fully maintained, three-pallet refrigerated truck to WHWB, dramatically improving the charity’s ability to safely transport more chilled and frozen goods.
This donation also complements WHWB’s recent access to 13 bays of cold storage space from Rogers Cold Storage in Oxley, another leap forward in their growing logistics capability.
Through SuperCool’s corporate network, other key businesses have contributed fantastic support: Beijer Ref supports with fuel costs, AJ Baker & Sons has donated commercial grade cold storage units, and Dexion supplied pallet racking to improve warehouse operations.
“It has been great to see the support from our own network. The commercial sector holds enormous power to create real change. We have taken the view that direct action and a more holistic dedication of resources and skills by companies is an effective pathway to solving many of our challenges in society,” says Mark Mitchell.
“Not just with financial resources, but with the knowledge, skills, and agility to act fast. Beyond the bottom line, there’s a growing recognition of the social and moral responsibility to step up for our communities and recognise the immediate challenges people are facing, and be part of the solution.”
The next step is clear: to secure a permanent home an industrial-zoned warehouse between 450 to 750m² in Logan or surrounding areas such as Meadowbrook or Slacks Creek. This will support WHWB’s continued growth plans, including larger capacity cold storage, logistics coordination, and volunteer engagement.
Despite the incredible support received so far, significantly more resources are still needed. The work carried out by Pete and her dedicated team is entirely volunteer-based, and the process of rescuing, storing, transporting, and redistributing food is a complex and physically demanding operation. WHWB is now making an urgent call for support from individuals, corporate partners, government bodies, local councils, philanthropists, and funders who want to make a real, lasting difference in the fight against food insecurity and food waste and bring some relief and stability to thousands of people facing hardship in our community.
“Food insecurity and food waste are two sides of the same systemic issue and both require smart, coordinated solutions. Warm Hearts Warm Bellies has created a model that directly addresses both, through a community-led, scalable approach that gets high-quality surplus food to where it’s needed most. Their Community Pantry network is not just compassionate, it’s an incredibly effective distribution system that delivers real outcomes. There is an urgent call to find them a permanent home in Logan,” says Mark Mitchell.
“We would love a forever home that the community can come and access, as well as being used as our major distribution centre,” adds Pete Underwood.
“There is much more I have planned for Warm Hearts Warm Bellies, especially working with the vulnerable in the community who don’t feel comfortable accessing the pantries on their own. As long as Warm Hearts are around, there will be no need for children and their families, those living rough, or anyone in genuine need to ever go hungry. No cost for food. Free is the key to food rescue, and food rescue distribution is what we do”.
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