By LUKE VOOGT
Two mates stopped in Geelong this week as part of their nine-day Victorian cycling odyssey to raise money for Australia’s largest hunger-relief charity, Foodbank.
Foodbank Victoria chief executive officer Dave McNamara and Cameron Falloon, who are leading the inaugural Hunger Ride, had just completed the second-last leg from Geelong to Ballarat.
“It’s been great,” Mr McNamara said.
“We’ve met a lot of local agencies who use our service and local people that benefit from Foodbank.
“I think it’s one of the best kept secrets in Australia, that so many people are going hungry.”
The pair visited Geelong’s Empire Grill restaurant for a charity dinner on Tuesday after completing the 112km leg in just over three hours.
The duo has ridden 1100km so far on their fundraising adventure.
“We’ve seen some amazing stuff, it’s a beautiful state, but the body’s suffering a little bit,” Mr McNamara said.
Mr McNamara and Mr Falloon – an AFL fitness coach and a personal trainer to the late Princess Diana – met at their sons’ Auskick.
Mr Falloon approached Mr McNamara about a ride around Victoria.
“The idea was to find something that would really catch peoples’ imagination,” Mr Falloon said.
Mr McNamara said 108,700 Victorians are going hungry and that $25 can feed a family for a week.
“We can turn $1 into $9 because of our relationships with food industry,” he said.
“We rescue food all through the supply chain – from the farm gate to the store.”
Belinda and Scott Austin of Austin and Co winery hosted the dinner for the Geelong leg of the ride.
“I was really just surprised by the statistics of how many people in Victoria go hungry,” said Mrs Austin.
“We just wanted to help build their profile and help their cause.”
The Austin’s contacted six Geelong businesses which donated 100kg of food in a week to be delivered to Foodbank.
“It’s been really nice to see the community get behind a cause like this,” Mr Austin said.
In the last financial year Foodbank distributed the equivalent of 17 million meals across Victoria.
