Food relief demand shapes $1m grant round

A Geelong food relief service that has seen demand rise by 50 per cent over the past two years is among 23 organisations to share in almost $1 million through this year’s Give Where You Live Foundation grants.

The Outpost has received $30,000 to support its after-hours meal service, which provides food seven nights a week and three lunches each week for people experiencing hardship.

The funding forms part of the foundation’s latest grant round.

Foundation chief executive Zac Lewis said this year’s applications reflected the growing impact of cost-of-living pressures, with 60 per cent seeking funding for food security initiatives and 40 per cent focused on homelessness.

“Those figures tell a powerful story about the challenges people in our community are experiencing and reinforce why sustained investment is so important,” he said.

The foundation has distributed almost $1 million to 23 organisations across the Geelong region, supporting frontline services as well as projects aimed at tackling longer-term social challenges.

Among the recipients is The Outpost, which has been providing after-hours food relief in Geelong since 1990.

Outpost chair Amy Hunter said the funding would help the organisation continue meeting growing demand.

The service distributed almost 63,000 meals in the last financial year.

“The Outpost isn’t just a meal service; it’s a lifeline that reaches far beyond the plate,” Hunter said.

“This grant of $30,000, equates to an incredible 9,803 nutritional meals we’ll be able to distribute in our community and will provide ongoing comfort and support to those we serve, nurturing connection and providing a hand up when it’s needed most.”

The annual grants are complemented by the foundation’s ongoing multi-year funding for The Good Neighbourhood Project, Geelong Foodshare and the Neighbourhood Economics initiative.

The foundation has also launched its Innovation Fund, which provides grants for organisations to test and evaluate new approaches to complex social issues before they can be adopted more broadly.

This year’s funding will support a project by Meli focused on preventing and responding to youth homelessness, and another by The Power In You Project to help people transitioning from the justice system.