State Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy said the need for food relief continued to grow amid an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
“In the last financial year, Moira FoodShare distributed the equivalent of over 200,000kg of food, through the support of one part-time co-ordinator and 50 passionate volunteers,” Mr McCurdy said.
“I visited Moira FoodShare in Cobram last year with my colleague and the Nationals Member for Northern Victoria Gaelle Broad, where we saw first hand the incredible work that James and the team do, providing food to individuals and families who need it most.”
He added that “while funds are being allocated to Foodbank Victoria, the support is not filtering through to our smaller rural communities”.
Ms Broad, who raised the issue in parliament earlier this month, echoed the sentiment.
“The truth is that the state government must step up and take action to ensure that Foodbank Victoria delivers support beyond the big cities and provides a fair share to smaller communities in northern Victoria as well,” she said.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said it was focused on delivering cost-of-living relief to families across the state.
“We know that many Victorian families are doing it tough right now,” the spokesperson said.
“We continue to provide $3.3 million in ongoing annual funding to Foodbank Victoria, which includes support for freight costs to ensure fresh and chilled food can be distributed right across Victoria.
“In addition to regular funding for Foodbank Victoria, we have invested more than $56 million to strengthen support for food relief across Victoria.”
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