THE Drysdale Foodbank will close its doors at the end of the month after more than two decades of providing food relief to the local community, but a neighbouring service has quickly swung into action to ensure no one goes without.<\/p>\n
Operating out of the Drysdale Community Church, the foodbank has been serving the community for more than 25 years, but co-ordinator Jake Hogendoorn said financial pressures and staffing uncertainty meant the service was \u201cno longer viable\u201d.<\/p>\n
These pressures, he said, stem from a decline in grant funding, as the service\u2019s major financial backers navigate their own budget pressures, and Mr Hogendoorn approaches his retirement in October.<\/p>\n
The rising cost of living has also seen the foodbank itself increase its average weekly grocery spend to $700 to secure the essential pantry items it is unable to get through donations.<\/p>\n
Demand for food relief has also risen by 15 per cent over the past 12 months, with the foodbank now supporting more than 40 families a week and up to 160 different clients throughout the year.<\/p>\n
To fill the gap the foodbank would otherwise have left behind, the nearby Portarlington-based Food Assist 3223 is working hard to, in just over two weeks, effectively doubling its capacity to include those living in the 3222 postcode.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got some clients from Ocean Grove and Leopold who will need to go in a different direction, but the bulk of our clients will be embraced, and a number of our volunteers are going to go across and join the team, so it\u2019ll be familiar faces for everyone,\u201d Mr Hogendoorn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re really encouraging the people that have been supporting us over the past 25 years [to] actually channel that support towards the Portarlington foodbank.\u201d<\/p>\n
Food Assist 3223 is no stranger to the struggles facing food relief services across the sector, after the sale of its home of 10 years and difficulties finding a new space almost forced its closure earlier this year.<\/p>\n
But when its committee heard the Drysdale Foodbank was closing, it immediately sought to help.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to look after our neighbours, and Portarlington and surrounds have always been very generous in that regard,\u201d Food Assist 3223 president Prue Drever said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 3222 postcode are our neighbours, so we feel that we really have to do this.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the food relief efforts around Geelong \u2013 and there are a lot \u2013 but most of them are more around the CBD area and in our \u2018burbs, there\u2019s not a lot. We were very concerned about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The expansion has again, she said, been enabled by the region\u2019s \u201cfairy godmothers\u201d at the Community Bank Bellarine, while several of the Drysdale Foodbank\u2019s supporters have already committed to redirect their funds to Food Assist 3223.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going to affect our current clientele \u2013 they\u2019ll still be getting just as much help as they\u2019ve ever had, and the donations that we get from the community here will still be going to help the people here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Drysdale Foodbank will operate until July 29, while Food Assist 3223\u2019s expanded service will launch on August 5.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE Drysdale Foodbank will close its doors at the end of the month after more than two decades of providing food relief to the local community, but a neighbouring service has quickly swung into action to ensure no one goes without. Operating out of the Drysdale Community Church, the foodbank has been serving the community […]<\/p>\n