By Luke Voogt
Thousands of families could go hungry as cash donations to Feed Geelong fail to reach target, according to organisers.
“To date, donations are considerably lower than we had hoped for,” said Bill Mithen, chief executive officer of Give Where You Live.
The annual October appeal had collected about $20,000, meaning the charity would be unable fund $70,000 in grant applications for food relief around Geelong.
“This will leave many organisations who are working very hard to deliver emergency food relief services without adequate funding,” Mr Mithen said.
Families with children account for half of the thousands of Geelong people receiving food assistance, according to a Give Where You Live study.
At least 63 organisations provided 717,883 meals per year, about 2000 daily, through Geelong’s food assistance system, the Food for Thought study found.
Unemployment and family violence were causing a rise in people requiring food assistance, Mr Mithen said.
“In many respects the magnitude of this issue is staggering.“
The study found that volunteers, 65 per cent of whom were over 61, provided the equivalent of $3.4 million in labour support annually.
Mr Mithen urged Geelong locals to donate or buy tickets to Christ Church Community Lunch on 31 October at feedgeelong.org.au.
“Financial donations are crucial to assisting those organisations that support families who are hungry,” he said.
