By Deanne Jeffers
WORKS are underway to construct Shepparton Foodshare’s new warehouse, providing a permanent site for the organisation to operate its food rescue, warehousing and distribution service.
Currently the organisation relies on local businesses to house them for free. Foodshare chair Jeremy Rensford said this chapter is significant as it would give them a permanent home and somewhere they can tailor their services to meet growing demand.
“We are so grateful for the support, and particularly being able to borrow facilities to operate our service. Importantly, this new facility will be able to be tailor-made for our shape,” Mr Rensford said.
“It also gives us the best possible environment for our volunteers and staff. Retention and attracting volunteers are so vital. While Foodshare has a rich history of volunteerism, it is really good to be able to be able to give them their own place to be proud of.”
The land on Doonan Street, Mooroopna, was donated by the Andreadis family to Foodshare in 2022, which then saw Foodshare receive a $600,000 grant from the Federal Government on top of $2.9M from the State Government.
“It was great to make that start with the donation of the land in 2022 from the Andreadis family, with funding coming soon thereafter from the Federal Government,” said Mr Rensford.
“I’d like to thank the Victorian and Australian Government for backing Shepparton FoodShare’s new warehouse – the demand for our services has never been higher, and this will enable us to reach out and support more people.”
The project is expected to create 18 jobs during construction. Once completed, the new warehouse will include loading facilities, meeting rooms, an administrative office, storage space, a community kitchen and amenities, and parking.
Shepparton Foodshare is a grassroots, community charity that distributes around 350,000kg of food annually to registered relief agencies, schools, neighbourhood houses, community meals programs. Recipients include individuals, families, children, homeless people, First Nations, and the multicultural community, including new arrivals and refugees.
“The cost-of-living crisis is real, and it is local. The data is not anecdotal and sadly, demand for food relief is going up. For example, the number of agencies that use Shepparton Foodshare and the amount of food they are requesting, are all increasing,” explained Mr Rensford.
“As more people are paying more to keep a roof over their head, they have less money to spend on food, so demand on Foodshare increases.”
To support local people in need of food relief, please consider donating to Shepparton Foodshare or volunteering your time to the organisation. More information is available online, including how to make a tax-deductible donation before the end of financial year: www.sheppartonfoodshare.org.au
