REGIONAL Foodbank Mount Gambier could be hit with less revenue following funding cuts being swept in by the Federal Government.
Six weeks out from Christmas and with just six weeks notice, Federal Families and Social Services Minister Paul Fletcher announced funding for the Foodbank Key Staples Program will be cut almost in half, down to $427,000 per year.
Foodbank now warns more than $8m worth of vital food relief is at risk to Foodbank, which is the country’s largest food relief organisation.
Despite providing food relief for 710,000 people a month, a quarter of whom are children, the organisation now receives less than half a million dollars in total from the Federal Government to fight hunger in Australia.
Responding to the cut, Foodbank chief executive Brianna Casey said the charitable organisation was “dumbfounded”.
“This funding program enables us to leverage an extremely modest investment from the government into more than $8m of essential foods for distribution to 2600 charities around the country,” Ms Casey said.
“Just last month we released the Foodbank Hunger Report 2018 which exposed food insecurity is on the rise and people in the bush are 33pc more likely to experience it than their city counterparts.
“On top of this, we are facing extreme drought conditions across large parts of the country and are coming into the natural disaster season when we know from experience we will see even greater demand for emergency food relief.
“I just cannot fathom why this is happening at all, let alone at one of the most challenging times of year for vulnerable Australians and our drought-affected communities.”
Member for Barker Tony Pasin vowed to lobby to overturn the cuts.
“I have been a strong supporter of Foodbank over the years because I understand the vitally important work they do for so many across the country, including locally in Mount Gambier,” he said.
“They are an established organisation in these communities doing amazing work”.
He said he spoke to the prime minister’s office yesterday about the matter along with Foodbank state and national leaders.
Foodbank has stated the latest cut – the third it has been asked to absorb since 2014 – may sound the death knell for its Key Staples Program.
This program sees Foodbank collaborate with suppliers, manufacturers and transporters to ensure there are stocks of essential foods, such as breakfast cereal, rice, pasta and canned fruit and vegetables, in its warehouses every day.
Under the program, food manufacturers produce foods needed using spare production capacity.
Suppliers donate or subsidise the ingredients, packaging and delivery of the food to enhance the sustainability of the program.
