Victoria pledges to Feed Melbourne

The Feed Melbourne appeal launches today in a bid to help those Victorians who are going hungry in the current economic downturn. Experts believe 370,000 Victorians will run out of food at some point this year and be unable to afford their next meal.

Feed Melbourne aims to raise $1 million in public donations from 22 June to 18 September. Every cent of the million dollars raised will be awarded to charities who collect, store and distribute food to Victorians who are doing it tough. If raised, the $1 million will help organisations like FareShare to distribute up to 2.5 million free meals.

Donations to Feed Melbourne can be made online at www.FeedMelbourne.com.au , in person at any NAB branch or on: (03) 9875 8383. The fundraising is already underway thanks to a $100,000 donation from The Pratt Foundation and Visy.

Feed Melbourne is an initiative of Leader Community Newspapers, the food charity FareShare and action group Do Something. It aims to:

• raise funds for charities who distribute food to people in need;
• raise awareness of the growing number of Victorians who suffer from food insecurity;
• demonstrate the enormous amount of fresh and edible food that is wasted or disposed each year - food that could be donated to help those in need.

All of the $1 million raised by Feed Melbourne will go to food charities to equip them with items such as vans, fridges and freezers to increase their ability to collect, store and distribute donated food. All suitable food charities in Melbourne and regional Victoria are invited to nominate for a $10,000 Feed Melbourne award via www.FeedMelbourne.com.au

Young people, single parents, low income families, the elderly, refugees, migrants and the homeless are most at risk of food insecurity. Other research shows that one in 10 Victorians are malnourished, go hungry or feel anxious because they cannot either consistently afford or access healthy and safe food.

Co-founders of Feed Melbourne, Leader Community Newspapers editor-in-chief Toni Hetherington, FareShare CEO Marcus Godinho and Do Something founder Jon Dee, have seen first hand the challenges facing Victorians and the charities supporting them.

“It’s in times like these when communities can pull together and make a real difference in people’s lives,” said Ms Hetherington. “When the public donates to Feed Melbourne, we can literally put food on the tables of thousands of people who will otherwise go without.”

“The growing number of people in Victoria going without food is largely hidden, but particularly crippling. One of the best things Feed Melbourne can do is help charities financially by increasing their capacity to receive more food donations and hand out more meals,” said Mr Godinho.

Mr Dee said that the recession is affecting people’s ability to put food on the table: “Hardworking Australians are finding themselves out of a job and unable to feed their families.

“This is why we’ve launched Feed Melbourne. We can’t sit by and do nothing while our fellow Australians go hungry,” he said.

The Feed Melbourne campaign will also highlight the enormous amount of fresh and edible food disposed of by both businesses and homes across Victoria each year.

“Almost 700,000 tonnes of food is thrown out in Victoria annually, the equivalent of 28,000 fully stocked supermarkets,” said Mr Godinho. “The amount of food sent to landfill is many times more than what’s needed to feed those Victorians who struggle to put three meals a day on the table.”

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch is Feed Melbourne’s patron in honour of her 100th birthday this year and in recognition of her generous donations to many Victorian food charities.

The campaign’s first donation has come from The Pratt Foundation and Visy. Pratt Foundation CEO Sam Lipski said: "The Pratt Foundation and the late Richard Pratt had a long-standing interest in supporting food programs. We think Feed Melbourne can change the map of hunger in this city. And, yes, all too many people just don't get enough to eat”.