It was the height of the pandemic when artist Gemma Leslie first came up with the idea behind Food For Everyone.

Like everyone in Melbourne, she was stuck at home obsessively watching the news, when it was revealed that nine public housing towers in the inner city were being forced into a hard lockdown, leaving more than 3000 residents without access to nutritious and culturally appropriate foods.

‘Local food charities were stepping in to help provide meals, but it made me think about how important food was, beyond providing nourishment, but as a means for connection and community — something that was sadly lacking during those years,’ Gemma says.

‘My plan was simple: to help put food on the table for those in need, while also bringing a little happiness into people’s homes through art. I called on four local foodie friends and portrayed their recipes into colourful posters, which would come to be Food For Everyone’s debut collection.’

The first release quickly sold out, with Gemma donating the profits to food bank charities. This overwhelmingly positive reaction encouraged her to keep this initiative going, reaching out to more chefs, and other local artists, to create more posters.

Before long, the social enterprise evolved from a project to a small business that continues to give back. ‘In four years, we’ve donated over $160,000 to a range of Australian charities, including SecondBite, FareShare, OzHarvest and the Asylum Resource Seeker Centre,’ Gemma says.

Now, for every poster sold, Food For Everyone donates the equivalent of 10 meals to their charity partner SecondBite.

But this isn’t the only way Gemma’s making a difference. In its impressive line-up of collaborators from across the hospitality, food, and art industries, Food For Everyone also shines a spotlight on diversity — something that rings true in the latest poster collection created by artists from Arts Project Australia (APA) a creative social enterprise supporting artists with intellectual disabilities.

‘For years, I’ve been subscribed to their weekly newsletter, and I travel past their Northcote studio daily,’ Gemma says. ‘The art that is produced by APA artists is so expressive and joyful, which fits the Food For Everyone mould perfectly.’

Gemma played ‘matchmaker’ between four local food legends and four artists from APA, who met up and talked about a vision for the artworks earlier this year.

Artist Simon Paredes painted one of Stefanino Panino’s Internet-famous sandwiches; Jordan Dymke captured a portrait of a Julia Busuttil Nishimura dessert; Samantha Ashdown depicted a bounty of fresh produce from Queen’s Harvest at the Queen Vic Market; and Daniel Richardson turned the much-loved spaghetti Napoli from Abbotsford restaurant Cam’s Kiosk into a colourful collage.

While Gemma says picking a favourite poster is like picking a favourite child, she notes that this project with APA has been a true career highlight. And the posters are a perfect celebration of Melbourne, both of ‘the people that make it and the food that feeds it.’

First Thing

I normally wake up at about 5am – 6am. My son stomps into our room and says ‘I’M HUNGRY!’ I am not a morning person and I take a long time to wake up… My husband, Mike, takes him downstairs for breakfast and makes me a coffee, delivering to me in bed!

At 6:45 when the caffeine hits I finally decide to roll out of bed. I head downstairs to see what the status of my son’s clothing is, get him ready, pack his bag and he entertains himself with his toys while I quickly throw on some clothes, wash my face and head out the door!

Morning

I arrive to the Food For Everyone studio between 8:30am-9am, with my second coffee in hand. The first thing I do is chat to my team. There’s three of us, it’s easy to get together and chat about what’s on for the day. But no day is really the same. Sometimes I start doing emails to artists and chefs — I try to get onto those ones quickly as I know they are usually waiting on me for an artistic brief or feedback. Once the pressing emails are done, I put my headphones on, shut my laptop and get my paints out.

Lunchtime

I love lunch! If I haven’t packed lunch (which is more often than not), I tend to grab a homemade soup or sandwich next door from the cafe, Roselle.

Afternoon

My days are particularly diverse at the moment. Sometimes I’m out of the studio visiting a chef at their restaurant, or catching up with one of our artists we are working with. If I’m in the office, I’m usually planning for shoots, providing feedback on video content, formatting artworks and scouting new collaborators.

Evening

My team finishes at 4pm. We like to start early so that we can make the most of our afternoon. Since my partner and I have both been flat out lately, we’ve been batch cooking something for dinner: a load of bolognese sauce, congee, and vegetable soup. So if I feel unorganised, I pull one of those meals out of the freezer.

Unwinding is a bit hard with a three-year-old at home, but I love being in my garden. Each night I grab my clippers and walk around the garden, cutting off any flower deadheads and pulling out any weeds I see. I love watching Monty Don’s Real Gardens or Gardening Australia if I feel like a couch potato.

Last Thing

I try to go to sleep about 9pm — the earlier, the better!

Right now I’m listening to, watching, and reading… I’m listening to Oliva Dean, watching Monty Don’s Great Gardens of Italy, and reading The Gruffalo’s Child.

I get my best work done when… I have headphones on!

A philosophy I live and work by is… This is clearly coming from an entrepreneur: create the work you want to do.

Shop the new Food For Everyone x APA poster collection out now.