Our experience at Shepparton Foodshare mirrors its plight. It’s important that News readers understand some factors that are leaving too many of our locals hungry.
The food relief ‘industry’ is haemorrhaging at the moment, and we are desperate to find our way out of this season of difficulty.
Many are not aware of the difference between Shepparton Foodshare and the government-funded Foodbank Victoria.
Foodbank is partly funded by the state government and is responsible for ending hunger across our state.
The key words here are “across our state” — it has a mandate that is expansive and very difficult: to feed the hungry across an entire Australian state.
It’s therefore understandable, in this current financial climate, that this government-funded organisation is struggling to keep up with food demand.
The article accurately reports the decline in help from Foodbank to local charities such as Shepparton Family and Financial Services. Shepparton Foodshare is also facing decreased supply from Foodbank, with only two per cent of the food we distribute to local people coming from Foodbank.
Unlike Foodbank, Shepparton Foodshare is a 100 per cent local Goulburn Valley organisation responsible for feeding locals.
We do not have any guaranteed ongoing government funding, and we’ve done over a decade’s great work thanks to the donations and support of our community.
While we are thankful to receive a small amount of our food supply from Foodbank, we are not the same organisation or a subsidiary of them; we operate entirely independently of Foodbank.
I am not writing this to undermine the fine work that Foodbank does across our state, but rather to explain some of the nuance in the food relief space that will help readers understand this issue and hopefully encourage them to think and support local organisations first, as it guarantees people we all know are getting the help they need with a fully localised, thorough and tailored response to their needs.
We are proud of local agencies such as Shepparton Family and Financial Services that rely on Shepparton Foodshare’s ongoing effective support.
During the financial year 2023/24, Shepparton Foodshare distributed 76,000kg of food to Shepparton Family and Financial Services, enabling it to do the amazing grassroots-level work to keep families and individuals fed. We will continue to do everything possible to ensure it can source the food it needs for those it is assisting.
I appeal to our locals to think local first in their selfless support of those who are hungry. And when contributing, send your support to local organisations that are helping local people — ensuring our families are directly benefiting from our support.
Foodshare’s local food collection, warehousing and redistribution service provides a hub for registered agencies to collect food for the people they support.
It also provides a hub for businesses and individuals to donate food and financial support, benefiting the people supported by the 144 agencies registered to collect our food across the region.
And lastly, a huge thank you to our amazingly generous Greater Shepparton community — we couldn't do what we do without you.
Jeremy Rensford | Shepparton Foodshare chair
17°C