Staff Bite: Wendy, our Food Sourcing Manager  

SecondBite’s Food Sourcing Manager Wendy Maslin joined the team in January 2025 and plays a crucial role behind the scenes – nurturing partnerships to increase the amount of direct food donations. 

In FY2025, 4.6 million kgs of food were donated directly to SecondBite from growers, producers and manufacturers and Wendy and the team hope to increase donations even more this year. 

Wendy brings an extensive background in agriculture, nutrition, procurement, new product development and international trade to help build and encourage successful new supply chains. 

Here, Wendy tells us about a day in the life of her role… 

No two days ever look the same. One day I might be on the road meeting potential new donors; next, I am onsite catching up with our current partners to strengthen relationships, understand their challenges, and find new ways we can help rescue their produce.  

My job is a mix of nurturing those relationships, understanding what each grower or supplier needs, and figuring out how we can support them in a way that benefits everyone. 

“Building relationships with new donors takes time. They want to know where their food goes, how it is used, and whether it genuinely makes a positive impact. And that is fair, at the end of the day they are contributing to something meaningful.” 

Every day involves networking, not just with our existing donors, to increase donations, but also tapping into their networks to open new doors. I also work closely with national peak industry bodies so I can stay across the challenges growers are facing and stay connected to movement across the sector. 

Recently, I traveled to Central NSW to visit Nice Rice by Honestly Riverina in Jerilderie, our brand-new rice donor supplying SecondBite and our FareShare kitchens. Our relationship with them is a fantastic example of the growth that has happened since the merger.  

Through the merger of SecondBite and FareShare, we have been able to significantly increase the volume of food donations, and partnerships like the one with Nice Rice mean more variety in our kitchens, more nutritious meals, and more fresh produce reaching communities across Australia. 

If you’re a grower, producer or manufacturer who’d like to discuss donating food, email food@secondbite.org or visit secondbite.org/donate-food.