AIREYS Inlet Rural Australian for Refugees has brought its long-running foodbank donation program to a close, with improved circumstances for local refugees meaning the once-essential support is no longer needed.<\/p>\n
The group has supported the Welcome Place foodbank in Geelong with a monthly grocery donation for the past seven years.<\/p>\n
But demand has eased in recent months, with most of the refugees and asylum seekers supported by the foodbank now holding permanent visa and work or social security rights.<\/p>\n
AIRAR’s Rosita Vila said the group had completed 85 grocery shops and donated more than $100,000 in groceries and gift cards to the Welcome Place over the course of the program.<\/p>\n
“Fortunately, most refugees and asylum seekers that the Welcome Place in Geelong supports now have their permanent visas and\/or work and social security rights,” she said.<\/p>\n
“So the dire need for food supplies has dwindled, which is a far cry from those early days when the foodbank filled such a desperate need.”<\/p>\n
Ms Vila described it as a “mammoth effort” and thanked volunteers Jules Rolfe, Margaret Jacobs and Liz Steele who coordinated the program.<\/p>\n
“Each month, they would check what the Welcome Place Foodbank needed and drive to the supermarkets, physically select and pay for the food, then on a Friday in the month, take it to the Welcome Place,” Ms Vila said.<\/p>\n
“Such a well-oiled machine which started as a simple idea of collecting groceries and delivering them in Geelong.”<\/p>\n
She said the program’s longevity was made possible by the generosity of local donors.<\/p>\n
It comes as AIRAR also wraps up its Aid for Afghans program, which provided financial support to families at risk under the Taliban.<\/p>\n
Ms Vila said last month the initiative had “fulfilled its purpose”, with families now safe, resettled or able to support themselves, meaning ongoing assistance is no longer required.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AIREYS Inlet Rural Australian for Refugees has brought its long-running foodbank donation program to a close, with improved circumstances for local refugees meaning the once-essential support is no longer needed. The group has supported the Welcome Place foodbank in Geelong with a monthly grocery donation for the past seven years. But demand has eased in […]<\/p>\n