Ash Bolt
People doing it tough across Geelong during the pandemic will still be able to put a meal on the table, with the state government committing funding to the Geelong Food Relief Centre.
Disability, Ageing and Carers Minister Anthony Carbines said the centre was one of 13 organisations across the state to share in $1.67 million from the latest round of the Food Relief Financial Reserve funding program.
The Financial Reserve was established to provide extra support to community food relief providers, who were delivering food to vulnerable Victorians in response to the challenges of the pandemic.
“We are ensuring a warm meal is available for everyone who needs it – because no Victorian should worry about having enough to eat,” Mr Carbines said.
“This funding brings our total investment in food relief for Victorians to more than $39 million since the start of the pandemic.
“With this assistance, food relief organisations across the state will be able to continue their important work getting food out to vulnerable members of our community in a COVIDSafe way.”
Geelong Food Relief Centre chief executive Collin Peebles said the centre’s $115,000 grant would be used to buy fresh, nutritious food to supply to families and individuals in need across the G21 region.
“The impacts on the supply chain … has made food rescue hit or miss [and] therefore regional foodbanks are having to purchase more fresh food than ever before,” he said.
“With many more people in isolation due to COVID-19 close contact rules, we’re seeing unprecedented demand for food.
“We’ve been delivering food hampers to ensure those people who don’t have food security and can’t leave their homes to go to the shop are still able to have a nutritious meal.
“But there’s a cost to put those hampers together, so we’re thankful for the support from the government because otherwise we would struggle to meet that demand.”
Mr Peebles said the centre helped around 45,000 people from Lara to Colac each year.
He also said the centre was on the lookout for volunteers.
“We always need volunteers – we’ve been impacted like many organisations by COVID-19 as well as some of our volunteers taking a well-needed break,” he said.
“We’re always on the lookout for extra people to lend a hand as a volunteer.”
Other organisations to receive funding included OzHarvest, FareShare, Foodbank Victoria, SecondBite, Latrobe City Council, Ballarat Community Health, MHA Care Ltd, Bendigo Foodshare, Mildura Foodshare, Warrnambool and District Foodshare, Shepparton Foodshare and Albury Wodonga Regional Foodshare.
