An eco-conscious push by supermarkets to produce less waste and the closure of Murray Goulburn has left Albury Wodonga Regional FoodShare with fewer direct donations.
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Manager Peter Matthews said to fulfil the demand of Border groups last year they had received an increase of donations from Foodbank, a national non-profit who work with major food companies and charities.
Foodbank statistics show 190,796 kilograms of food was supplied to Albury-Wodonga FoodShare in 2017-18, a 26 per cent increase from the 151,124 kilograms given in 2016-17.
Foodbank also supplied 28,974 kilograms to Wodonga Uniting Care in 2017-18.
Mr Matthews said demand for items had definitely increased in the past year as drought ravaged NSW, but that wasn’t solely responsible for the 26 per cent increase.
“Demand hasn’t declined at all, it’s still increasing, we’ve got new client agencies – there’s no evidence of any decline in demand,” he said.
“Losing Murray Goulburn had a massive impact on us, we used to get very generous donations from them.
“Other partners and supermarkets are in a concerted effort to reduce waste, but that means there’s less waste available to give us.
“For food we can only offer what we have and sometimes particular categories fall short but generally we manage to scrap together enough to keep everyone in supply.”
Mr Matthews said it was great to see major supermarkets become less-wasteful, and FoodShare was working with farmers on a new program that will hopefully increase direct supply.
“It’s a good thing they’re making a conscious effort...it’s not just food it is also reducing other waste generated in supermarkets like plastics,” he said.
Mr Matthews said companies were also becoming more efficient logistically and ordering more precisely to stores.
The Poverty in Australia 2018 Report, launched Tuesday, found one in eight adults and more than one in six children were living in poverty in Australia.
Mr Matthews said more small communities were setting up distribution points in towns for those who were struggling and couldn’t afford high petrol prices.
“We’re a Band-Aid really, not a solution, ultimately we’ll always exist and there will always be people who run out of money and need support,” he said.
“The government has a significant role to play [in ultimately solving poverty and hunger problems] and also general economic improvement would create jobs.”
Mr Matthews said FoodShare was self-funded and would be hosting a movie on November 1 to raise funds, with tickets available on their website.
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