Foodshare backed by Marketplace

BENDIGO Foodshare is in for a major financial boost after forming a partnership with Bendigo Marketplace shopping centre.

Under the agreement, Marketplace owner and property investment company ISPT will make a $50,000 yearly donation to the not-for-profit for the next three years.

Foodshare CEO, Michelle Murphy, said the partnership “couldn’t have come at a better time” for the organisation as they respond to growing community need and face rising operational costs.

“We know out there that people are really struggling, especially with increasing food and fuel prices. The pressure is on, so the demand is increasing,” she said.

“It’s very hard to estimate how much food we need but we’re distributing around 800,000 to 900,000 kilograms of food per year at the moment.

“Speaking to the organisations that we pass the food on to, they’re telling us that their numbers are getting close to doubling in terms of demand.

“One organisation said to us ‘we normally get about 30 families a day that we give food to and that’s gone up to 50 families’.

“To have an injection of funds of this nature is just immeasurable.”

Property investment manager at ISPT, Alistair Capp, said the partnership could also help increase the Marketplace’s food recovery rate by donating more unsold products to Foodshare.

“We want to collaborate with them and assist them in their efforts to collect and distribute food,” he said.

“We sell a lot of food within Bendigo Marketplace. There’s a lot of synergy between us and we’re looking to leverage that.”