Soon after moving into a new building staff and volunteers at the Geelong Food Relief Centre (GFRC) are busy serving in the mini-mart and packing food to be delivered as far away as Camperdown where isolated rural families are doing it tough.
From 400 square metres to the new 2 500 square metre refurbished premises the 90 dedicated volunteers and employees combatting food insecurity are enjoying the spacious packing area with drive-through delivery access the large and inviting mini-mart where their customers shop for groceries and the kitchens where meals are prepared.
The centre which will look after 47 500 individuals or 23 500 families in the 21-22 financial year is feeling the effects of the COVID pandemic. CEO Collin Peebles says:
Unfortunately the donations aren’t as healthy as they were pre the COVID pandemic so we have had to purchase more food than ever before in our 30-year history.
On top of the mini-marts at the new premises and at the Geelong waterfront the GFRC
looks after 60 smaller food-oriented agencies driving around 900 kg of food through the north Geelong hub for agencies like the Drysdale Food Bank Torquay Food Aid and Anglesea Food Link.
Where there’s collaboration to be formed we work beside anybody.
As well as food there is a big need for personal hygiene products that don’t necessarily get donated and this year the centre will finance around $350 000 on food purchases including personal hygiene products.
To have their personal hygiene and their dignity is of paramount importance…to get their kids to school and not have them teased.
The GFRC and other organisations combatting food insecurity are bracing themselves for the impacts of changes to JobKeeper and JobSeeker which will trickle through over coming months. Noting that 1.4 million Australians dipped into their superannuation savings last year Collin expects to see people previously caught up in the welfare sector coming back plus people who they’ve never helped before. Collin talks about how quickly people’s circumstances can turn around and mentions recently supporting a pilot and his wife who lost their jobs during COVID.
And there are the heart-warming stories of former customers giving back. A successful engineer now in the UK donated $5000 and sent a thank you note for the support he received when living and studying in Geelong. Collin says that donations big and small are gratefully received and their website is equipped with Paypal so people can make secure donations.
The centre’s volunteers come from all backgrounds and at the end of the day they are all trying to do their best to ensure that they are making some sort of contribution to those doing it tough. The volunteers sleep very well at night knowing that they’ve made a difference and it takes a very special volunteer to get out of bed at 6am to hit the road and volunteer when the weather’s inclement. It’s a form of men’s shed. We all know and support each other.
The $1.7 million renovation of the former fruit and vegetable wholesale site was made possible by a $1million investment from the City of Greater Geelong and a $700 000 contribution made possible by GFRC Geelong based private donors and COVID-19 financial support from the Victorian Government. Operational costs are offset by financial support provided by the City of Greater Geelong and the Victorian Government and the GFRC also relies on philanthropic support and private donations. To make a donation to inquire about volunteering or to find out about accessing support head to their website at geelongfoodrelief.org.