Donate to help feed the hungry

BENDIGO Foodshare’s annual Winter Food Drive is underway, with the aim of collecting 10,000 kilograms in non-perishable food donations by Friday 13 September, as the organisation prepares to move to its new warehouse in Golden Square.

The charity is seeking essentials such as pasta, rice, grains, canned veggies, cereals, tinned fruit, flour and sugar, long life milk, coffee, tea and Milo, sauces and seasonings, tinned meat and fish, jam, peanut butter and Vegemite, plus cooking oil and meal bases.

All items can be left in Foodshare’s distinctive yellow-lidded wheelie bins outside all Aldi, Coles, IGA and Woolworths stores in the area, or dropped off at its warehouse in Long Gully between 9am and 3pm on weekdays.

Foodshare CEO Michelle Murphy said the face of food relief has changed during the past few years, with many people, including families with two working adults, having to reach out for the first time.

“Households at the moment are making really tough decisions about where to spend their money, but we’re calling on our community, those that are in a position to do so, to make an extra purchase or two when they’re doing their supermarket shop,” she said.

“We’ve set an ambitious target, but we know (people) can dig deep for others less fortunate. To help reach our goal, we’re also looking for businesses to chip in a donation of food, or to host their own food drive in their workplace.

“We plan to move into our new warehouse in Golden Square at the end of next month, which has triple the storage capacity than our current site, so this donated food is going to be extremely helpful in filling our bare shelves.”

Woolworths Bendigo Market Place assistant store manager Nick Davies said the supermarket was pleased to back this year’s Winter Food Drive.

“It’s magnificent,” he said. “As a business we like to get behind the community, and particularly in the current climate with families and households, it’s a great way to support them and give back to them.”

More info at bendigofoodshare.org.au/fooddrive.