Feed Me host charity dinner

LOCAL organisation Feed Me hosted their Charity Dinner at Flying Brick earlier this month.

The money raised will go to supporting Feed Me’s services across their three locations, Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast.

The March 23 event returned for the second time with about 160 people attending, raising between $40,000 and $50,000 for the not-for-profit organisation to continue supporting the local community.

“We’re not government funded, or council funded, we have to raise all of our funds ourselves to keep the program running across the region,” Feed Me founder and chief executive officer Lana Purcell said.

“Anytime we can raise funds to keep this program going, it just means we can keep supporting those people that are needing help that can’t easily access it.”

Along with the sale of tickets, the dinner also featured a live auction, silent auction and raffles, with prizes donated by the community and local businesses.

Ms Purcell said clients that were contacting them now were people who had never needed support before, and demand for the organisation’s services had risen since last year.

“We thought that it was going to be high during COVID and it was, but now we’re seeing the aftereffects of the economic climate, and the cost-of-living crisis is actually causing more harm to our community.

“We’re seeing different socioeconomic groups that are needing us, outside of the ones that generally need to access our support services.”

Ms Purcell said that unlike a lot of other agencies, Feed Me did not have strict requirements on help, which allows more people to access their services.

“If you have a house and a car, it’s very hard to get support from other agencies.

“But you’re paying off your house and you’re paying off your car, and you’re paying the high prices at the supermarkets and the school fees, and food becomes one of those things that you’ve cut back on.”

Ms Purcell thanked Fletchers Bellarine who booked a full table with their team and volunteered to run the auction, as well as being a support to them throughout the year.

For more information on Feed Me, head to feedme.org.au