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Mayor Cr Ben Taylor said uptake of the initiative has been strong.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a really good response to the emergency food relief centre,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough it only opened on Friday, we\u2019ve had a lot of cars through already and the amount of food people are dropping off has been sensational.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is times like these our Ballarat community really rallies around and I think the Be Kind message has been heard and adopted right across our municipality. It\u2019s great for our residents to be able to come and add a little bit extra to help people that are in need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once the donations are collected the food is placed in a truck and shipped out to groups who support vulnerable people across the region.<\/p>\n
Invermay Park resident Val Backhouse went through the drop-off site on Monday, after her and her mother went out and purchased food for donation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s so many people out of work at the moment,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just decided that we\u2019d put in together and buy some food that people might be able to use. If you\u2019re able to do it, you should probably do it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The emergency food relief drop-off point is open weekdays, between 10am and 12pm, in the Ballarat Library loading dock with entry via Market Street on the Armstrong Street side.<\/p>\n
The site is collecting non-perishable food items including flour, tinned fruit and vegetables, long life milk, rice, tuna, soups, tea, coffee, pasta and pasta sauces as well as personal hygiene products.<\/p>\n
Currently perishable foods are unable to be donated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
YOU normally associate drive-throughs with picking up food, not dropping it off. Yet that\u2019s what\u2019s been happening in the loading dock of the Ballarat Library for the last week after the space was turned into a collection point for food donations. Each weekday between 10am and 12pm, a steady stream of cars roll into space, […]<\/p>\n