Known for their culinary poster series featuring some of Australia’s best local chefs and artists that took the food world by storm, Food For Everyone, the social initiative-turned-creative studio is setting a precedent for the combined possibilities and ‘creative rapport’ between food and art.

Founded in 2020 by Gemma Leslie in Melbourne, Australia, Food For Everyone’s origins began organically, created from a solution that turned into a movement and creative studio. ‘Food For Everyone has always been about creating connections through food which is two-fold in this collection by bringing artists into the mix and bridging new communities,’ Gemma explains.

Stemming from a local lens of food, art, culture & community, the studio’s known for their poster series where for every poster sold, 10 meals are donated to a selected NPO. Yet they’ve now expanded their world to encapsulate their mission with a wider reach and creative expansion. We caught up with Gemma in her studio in Melbourne, on Food For Everyone’s beginnings, to how they approach collaborators, and on their upcoming posters for the Australian Culinary Archive at Sydney’s new Powerhouse Museum opening in October. 

Food For Everyone was founded in 2020… what instigated the mission?

Food For Everyone began in 2020 during Melbourne’s lockdowns, at a time when food access and community felt especially fragile. When the government locked down one of our social housing towers, it sparked real anger. Families couldn’t leave their homes or access food, and it felt like a clear human rights issue.

I was painting at home, thinking a lot about how much comfort and connection food carries, and how quickly that can be taken away. I reached out to chefs I admired, painted their recipes, and turned them into posters to raise money for food banks. It was practical, immediate, and deeply human.

The response was overwhelming. I raised $33,000. It showed me that people wanted to engage with food not just as something to consume, but as culture, memory, and together.. That idea has stayed at the centre of Food For Everyone ever since.

Food For Everyone is a creative studio but also a movement. Why was giving back non-negotiable?

Because food is political whether we like it or not. I couldn’t sit comfortably making beautiful objects about food while ignoring the fact that not everyone has access to it. The giving-back part wasn’t an add-on, it was the point. The posters only make sense if they do something beyond looking nice on a wall. Donating meals was the roots of my business, and it is a subtle message to our community which is a talking point about food insecurity – which sits at 1 in 3 in Australia at the moment (fairshare statistic). Which is actually mind blowing when you think about it!

How do you approach pairing collaborators?
It’s very instinctive. Sometimes it’s about contrast, sometimes about shared sensibility. I think about tone more than style. Is this playful? Serious? Nostalgic? I also think about trust. These are often personal recipes. You’re asking someone to hand over something precious. The pairing has to feel respectful, like a good dinner party seating plan.

What makes culinary artworks special in a home?

It’s important to me that the art feels familiar. Like it’s food! We all know food! It lives well with mess, with kids, with chaos! They belong in homes that are being actively lived in. I love seeing them next to family photos or old exhibition posters. That’s where they make sense.

Recipes that have stayed with you?

So many. The ones that really stick are often the simplest. Things cooked repeatedly. Family recipes. Or dishes tied to a place, a restaurant, a moment in time. You realise pretty quickly it’s never just about the food. It’s about who you ate it with, and what was happening in your life at the time.
One of my favourites is Phở Gà by Shop Bao Ngọc & Aura. It feels so at home here in Melbourne as we have a big Vietnamese population here and there are so many lovely families and restaurants that serve the best Vietnamese food!

Tell us about the Australian Culinary Archive at the Powerhouse Museum.
That one still blows my mind. Being invited to contribute Food For Everyone posters to the archive felt like a quiet validation of the whole idea. Recipes as cultural documents. Posters as historical records. It’s very moving to think these everyday food stories will be preserved alongside more formal artefacts. It makes you realise what we’re doing really matters.

How do you see Food For Everyone evolving?
I want it to keep expanding sideways rather than just bigger. More editorial. More conversations. More projects that sit between food, art and culture. I’m excited about the journal, a collaboration with the powerhouse museum, and possibly a book down the line! Mostly I want to keep creating things that feel generous and thoughtful whilst giving back to food banks through my poster sales.

Discover all of Food For Everyone’s Poster Series here

Location: Melbourne, Australia
Images: Food For Everyone