Charities stocked as winter arrives

SIXTEEN pallets-worth of food has been purchased by the 3BA Winter Appeal to ensure their benefiting charities can provide families with emergency supplies as the cold weather arrives.

Uniting Ballarat, Anglicare, the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul Society have received four pallets of stock each, sourced from Maxi Foods, which will feed families in need of support in the coming weeks and months.

The Salvation Army Ballarat’s Kaz Thomas said support agencies need for families this year is huge.

“We’ve seen families where people have lost their jobs, and they’ve come home to their parents’ houses with their partners and their kids,” she said.

“Mum and dad now have up to 12 people in their house, with their extended family. These big families will have to stay together, because there’s no housing in Ballarat.

“COVID has had a big impact. Some couples are living on $190 a fortnight with two kids. People don’t realise that. It’s a vicious circle, so we really rely on the 3BA Winter Appeal for support.”

Blankets from the Creswick Woollen Mills were also distributed to the charities this week.

The 3BA Winter Appeal officially launches on Tuesday, 1 June. 3BA general manager John Fitzgibbon was grateful to Maxi Foods and the Creswick Woollen Mills for their support.

“For the dollars that we spend, they give us the maximum bang for our buck,” he said.

“It’s tough to make ends meet in winter. All these supplies are much-needed now to allow the charities to deal with the demand.

“Ordinary, everyday families are faced with the situation of choosing between paying a large utility bill and putting food on the table, so the charities work with them to provide emergency relief; food and blankets, so they’re not using the heating so much, and they can manage their cash to pay their bills.”

If people would like to make donations of non-perishable foods or clean, warm, quality blankets they’d be willing to give to their own family members, they are asked to drop them off at the charities directly.

But Mr Fitzgibbon said ultimately, “cash is king.”

“We can specifically target our purchasing to what the charities need, whether it’s certain foods, or more blankets. Cash gives us flexibility.”

Visit 3ba.com.au/community/appeals-page.