Imagine, if you will, being a mother of two gorgeous small children - one an infant - and being unable to feed your family.

That's been the case for WA mother Karen, a victim of domestic violence who had her world turned upside when her partner took to her with a tomahawk.

Those horrific events have led Karen's family to be in desperate need of housing and food relief.

"It was a new beginning. I'd had enough and thought, I've got to do this for the kids, or I'm going to lose them or lose my life. And they're going to have no one."

Over 53,000 people such as Karen are in need each month - with more than 22,000 being children.

Karen says that watching her kids go hungry was heartbreaking.

But Foodbank's aim is to ensure that people who have fallen on hard times have nutritious food when they need it, without judgment.

It's a kindness for which Karen is eternally greatful.

As she says: "I think I'd be lost without Foodbank." 

• Read more: Foodbank fills more hungry bellies from new centre