The helping hand provided by charity often needs its own leg-up as it faces increasing demand.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
This scenario has been played out on the Border in recent months with Albury Wodonga Regional FoodShare appealing to councils for make-or-break funding.
Last month Albury Council agreed to provide $10,000 to the service, although former mayor Alice Glachan agreed with a council report stating emergency food supply was not the responsibility of the city.
The former mayor has now raised the case of fellow food charity Carevan which had a funding bid rejected by the council.
Cr Glachan says that it appears the council is being inconsistent with its approach to assisting charities.
Her point seems to be valid with both being similar enterprises with like goals.
Although the Carevan application for funding came apart because of misinformation, according to Carevan chief Di Mant.
She was told an application needed to be for a specific item, but was later advised that was incorrect.
This is red tape which could have been negated by sharper communication.
Clearly there needs to be better knowledge about the process at the staff level of the council.
No doubt, Carevan deserves a hearing as it seeks $15,000 for a commercial oven.
However, whether it succeeds or not will be a test for the councillors.
Does the city have a role to help charities or is that outside its remit?
There is an argument that the council is facing its own financial problems with a fall in government funding leaving it with a shortfall that means a tightening kitty.
The flipside is that it is not an attractive look for the council to be turning its back on needy citizens.
In the end it is a matter of priorities and whether the city has a set policy or takes an idiosyncratic approach.
Cr Graham Docksey summarised the dilemma facing the council when he commented, last month during debate on FoodShare, "this could be the key to opening the floodgate".
What happens in the wash-up will now show the community whether Albury stands high and dry from charities or is prepared to pool money for battlers.