Local Community Food Share Opens
Published on 17 March 2015
A pilot program to capture surplus local fruit and vegetables, and distribute it to those in need has been opened in Mildura.
Officially launched on Tuesday 17 March, the Community Food Share program is a collaborative project between the Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council (SMECC), Healthy Together Mildura (HTM) and Foodbank Victoria.
The program will initially be focused on sourcing surplus and ‘seconds’ local fresh produce from local suppliers in the Sunraysia region for redistribution directly to Emergency Food Relief providers, the Mildura Region School Breakfast Partnership and other services for people in need.
The Community Food Share project will also form part of SMECC’s Education & Training programs as part of its new Skills Shed facility, aiming to provide practical warehousing work experience to volunteers and certificate training course participants from Culturally & Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds.
Sunraysia Mallee Ethnic Communities Council Executive Officer, Dean Wickham said the Food Share will supply much needed fresh produce to Emergency Food Relief providers.
“One of the hardest things for Emergency Food Relief providers to regularly source is fresh fruit and vegetables.” Mr Wickham said “This is quite astonishing given that we live in Victoria’s food bowl. The Community Food Share aims to fill this gap and help ensure fresh, healthy food gets to those who need it most. Importantly for SMECC, those who need this type of support are also frequently community members from CALD backgrounds”
Food collected will be distributed through community partners which include The Salvation Army, St. Vincent De Paul, Sacred Heart Parish Soup Kitchen, Mallee District Aboriginal Services and local Primary and Secondary Schools.
In addition to logistical support, Healthy Together Mildura has committed $20,000 to support getting the Food Share up and running.
Community Wellbeing and Services Portfolio Councillor Sharyon Peart said capturing surplus food for distribution demonstrated Mildura’s strong community focus.
“It may surprise people to know Mildura has a high rate of food insecurity.” Cr Peart said “In 2011, 9.3% of the population in the Mildura municipally reported that they ran out of food and did not have money to buy more. This can happen for any number of reasons. The Community Food Share partnership is a wonderful initiative that demonstrates our commitment as a community to help those in need."
The Community Food Share will accept all fruit and vegetables including produce that does not meet retail specifications, excess produce from high yielding harvests, and fresh produce that may have damaged packaging and/or blemishes, but are still entirely safe to the consumer.
All food donations will be tax deductable.
Already several local growers have started supporting the project including SS Citrus, who have donated citrus and Nangiloc Colignan Farms with a donation of table grapes.
Growers interested in finding our more about how they can help should contact:
Susan Saris
Healthy Together Mildura Food Systems Project Officer
Ph: 03 5018 8503, Susan.Saris@mildura.vic.gov.au
Kerry Gillespie
SMECC Education & Training Coordinator
Ph: 03 5022 1006, training@smecc.org.au
Healthy Together Mildura is funded by the Victorian Government and is a partnership between Mildura Rural City Council and Sunraysia Community Health Services.
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Media enquiries
Angela Umback
(03) 5018 8689
angela.umback@mildura.vic.gov.au