Village residents stump up for food relief

LIFESTYLE St Leonards residents have chipped in to provide a much-needed donation for a local food relief service.

The village’s social committee hosted fundraising events and raffles that resulted in a $1000 cheque handed to Food Assist 3223 Inc to support its programs.

The charity covers Portarlington, St Leonards and Indented Head and provides free food to local residents in need, for both short-term and long-term relief.

Its goods include pantry items, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread and bakery items, dairy and meat, and volunteers run a weekly foodbank from Portarlington’s St Andrews Uniting Church every Wednesday from 1-3pm.

Food Assist has seen a 60-per-cent increase in the number of clients regularly accessing its food bank in the past 12 months, which it said was largely driven by cost of living pressure.

Lifestyle social committee member Anne Kennedy said the group was pleased to make a difference for local residents doing it tough.

“People are doing it so hard at the moment and it was our way of helping,” she said.

“Originally we offered them the money to buy blankets. They said to us we’ve actually got enough blankets but we still have to buy the food. So that’s where the money will go.”

Ms Kennedy said the donation was part of residents’ aims to establish themselves in their new towns and make a positive impact.

“As a community, we’re all new to the area because we’ve moved into lifestyle, we want to be part of the community and we want to contribute to the community.”