Harnessing food as a force for good with Gemma Leslie

Proudly hung on food lovers' walls across the country and beyond – and where for every poster sold, 10 meals are donated to those experiencing food insecurity.

This is the premise behind Food For Everyone, the brainchild of artist, illustrator and designer, Gemma Leslie, who was inspired to lean into both her talent and her network to help others during Melbourne’s lengthy lockdowns.

From humble beginnings in Gemma’s kitchen in 2020 to a Collingwood studio, as of last July Food For Everyone had donated over $186,000 to charities like SecondBite, and its ever-expanding collection spans recipes by culinary world royalty such as Peter Gilmore, Maggie Beer and Josh Niland, and works by renowned artists including Ken Done, Maggie Cowles, and Gemma herself, to name a few.

We recently caught up with Gemma to explore the Food For Everyone story, and she also shares with us everything from her most meaningful collaborations to date, to what an “average” day looks like now.

Food For Everyone is such a unique and brilliant concept! How did you come up with it?

Food For Everyone was born out of a little cabin fever, a little outrage, and one sharp lightbulb moment. Back in 2020, when we were all counting daily COVID case numbers on TV like an extremely sad Lotto draw – one case, four cases, 500 cases – the council housing towers in North Melbourne were suddenly locked down. Without warning, families were shut inside with no communication, no supplies, and no food.

On the news: police out front, doors chained shut. The official food drop arrived… Frozen, unappealing, almost out of date, and culturally inappropriate. The case was later determined as a massive human rights breach. But quietly, on the better side of the story, there were people like the team at FareShare working quietly to replace every single meal for every resident, to feed people properly.

I wanted to do something to raise money and cut through the city’s gloom. Somewhere between boredom, creativity, and outrage, I landed on the idea: recipe posters. I rang a few chef friends – Suzanne Corbett, Julia Busuttil Nishimura, Clementine Day, and Ellie Bouhadana – who each gave me a special recipe. I painted each recipe as an artwork, turned them into posters, and then made them available as a pre-order to see how it would go… And the orders flooded in.

I packed about 400 posters in my kitchen, which was both amazing and exhausting. Every cent went to charity. That was the start, and somehow, here we are, five years later!

Could you tell us a little about your professional background as an artist, illustrator and designer?

I’ve worn a few hats in my time: graphic designer, marketer, general creative, fashion-world wannabe, I guess what's clear is that I’ve always been drawn to making things look beautiful. Like most people in the arts, there’s no neat, clear pathway. You just keep moving and evolving, following the next thing that inspires you.

In 2020 I lost my job. Lockdown set in, and I started painting. Every day, for months. Somewhere in that blur, I realised this was what I really loved. Commissions began to trickle in, and then came Food For Everyone, first as a fundraising project, now my full-time work.

Although truthfully, my actual full-time work is raising a four-year-old, which is, without question, a much harder job.

What inspires your work?

Colour, food, people. That’s it. For me, it's the day-to-day stuff that sticks, the way a lemon tree leans over a fence, the little herb patches on the nature strips when you’re walking to the train station.

Wandering into the local for a glass of wine and some people-watching. We’re lucky to move through the world like that, to notice small things and have the time to just ‘be’.

In what ways do you partner with and support SecondBite? What are your goals there?

Today we are exclusively partnered with SecondBite. They’re an absolute force. A team of volunteers keeping the whole thing moving, day in, day out. At SecondBite, they rescue quality food that's headed for landfill and redistribute food across the country to their charity partners, all for free.

I’ve always believed it’s a human right to have a proper meal and a sense of connection with your community. Those were among the first things stripped away from the families in the towers – and from so many others during COVID lockdowns.

Now, for every poster we sell, we give back the equivalent of 10 meals. One in three Australians experiences food insecurity, which is just insane. Through the work we do at Food For Everyone, our goal is to help chip away at that number, and bring joy into people's homes through art, colour, connection, and food.

Do you have a favourite poster or collaboration, and if so, why is it so meaningful to you?

So hard to pick a favourite, but there are two projects that are particularly meaningful to me.

First, the Ken Done x Josh Niland poster. Ken has been a hero of mine for ages, so getting to work with him was an absolute honour – a reminder that the sky really is the limit!

Then there’s our Abbey Rich x Aheda's Kitchen poster collaboration. It’s a story about friendship and community, two things that matter more than ever.

What are you most proud of when it comes to Food For Everyone, and your career more broadly?

What I’m most proud of is being able to do what I love. Food For Everyone connects so many creative worlds and brings so much joy to people. There’s also something quietly powerful about making space for artists to do great work. And, of course, giving back has always been central. It’s the reason Food For Everyone exists in the first place.

And as for my career more broadly, I’m proud of my ability to change course in pursuit of what feels right – to try something new, and if it doesn’t work, take the lessons and move on to the next thing. That openness has led me down some unexpected paths, and ultimately, to the work I love most.

What’s a typical day look like at your Collingwood studio?

No two days are the same, but a “typical” one starts mid-morning for me after I drop my son to kinder, meanwhile my team starts at 8am. We also share the studio space with other great artists, which keeps things interesting and collaborative.

The day is a mix of painting, designing, dispatching orders, and planning what’s next – whether that’s new posters, partnerships, or research. Around mid-afternoon, we all stop for coffee. We’ve got a little machine in the studio, and making cappuccinos for each other is a small ritual. We actually call it a “choccacino” because we douse it in chocolate powder.

Afternoons are when I’m more hands-on, working on artwork commissions, formatting posters, or shooting content. By 4pm, we’re winding down, tidying up, and getting ready for the next day.

How else can we support Food For Everyone and SecondBite?

There are a few ways to support the team at SecondBite. You can donate or volunteer, which honestly, the volunteers are the backbone of the whole operation. You could organise a fundraiser at work or with your local community. Or, of course, purchase a Food For Everyone poster! Every little bit helps, it all adds up.

How has Food For Everyone grown and evolved since its launch, and what’s next?

Since 2020, Food For Everyone has grown steadily by sticking to what feels right. We've come a long way since packing and sending orders from my kitchen and living room!

What began as a project-based fundraiser has become my full-time work, which means we are able to create more regular poster drops and collaborate with more artists and chefs. Through it all, we’ve been guided by joy – if it doesn’t bring joy, we won’t do it!

At its core, it’s still about keeping it simple: making and sharing art, telling stories, and supporting the people behind it all. The plan is to keep doing exactly that.

Join the Food For Everyone community

Shop the posters
Meet the collaborators
Follow the business on Instagram
Visit the studio at 55 Cromwell St, Collingwood, open 9am – 4pm Monday to Thursday