Food relief deliveries halved

•   Dorset Community House’s Zoe Bennett and Scottsdale resident and volunteer Doug Osbourne. 

By Daisy Baker,
March 30, 2022

In the midst of rising fuel and living costs, the state’s largest free emergency food provider, Loaves and Fishes, is facing an increasing demand but have been forced to reduce their food relief deliveries as they face their own financial stress.

As of last week, their local deliveries to Dorset Community House (DCH) have moved to a fortnightly rather than weekly basis.

DCH coordinator Naomi Buster said Loaves and Fishes are trying to continue to deliver the same quantity of food but less often.

She said while this is okay for frozen meals provided there’s sufficient storage, the fresh produce does not last that long because they don’t have enough fridges and it is end of stock when it arrives.

“We know that people in this area don’t eat enough fresh fruit and vegetables so it has a big flow on effect,” she said.

“Loaves and Fishes are doing the best they can. They have all their systems in place and great staff. They just need more funding. We haven’t reached any conclusions yet.

“My concern is that if this goes on for too long, these systems will fall out of place, so hopefully a solution is found soon.

“The need of people is rising while this reduction is happening which is a real concern.

“We’re keen to still continue our side of the deal weekly.”

Loaves and Fishes also deliver to Scottsdale Primary school for their breakfast program, and Dorset Community House distributes some of their portion to Scottsdale High School, Winnaleah District High School and give excess fresh produce to the Salvos.

As well as the Loaves and Fishes program, DCH also provides emergency food relief and affordable fruit and vegetables which is a combination of produce from local growers, donated food and items from the House’s garden. 

Scottsdale resident Doug Osbourne has accessed food through the Loaves and Fishes program in recent years in times of need.

“We’ve got so many people around here, whether they’re employed, unemployed, pensioners or the like, that absolutely struggle, below the breadline,” he said.

“Loaves and Fishes have been brilliant. The frozen meals have improved dramatically over the last few years to really restaurant quality meals.”

Mr Osbourne now volunteers at the Community House, with the aim of giving back to locals in need.

He said there is still stigma around reaching out for support, but he urged anyone in need to make the move.

“Try not to worry about it if you need help, just come in. Everything that goes on in here, nothing leaves this house,” he said.

“These guys here at the Community House are absolutely fantastic. They’ve been a wonderful support to me.

“Come in and have a cup of coffee and a bit of a talk. There’s a lot of places we can send people off to to get additional support.”

Loaves and Fishes CEO Andrew Hillier said rising operational costs including food, transport and fuel are making it difficult to continue providing their existing level of service.

“Our fuel bill has increased $4,000 a month in recent weeks. It costs a lot of money to collect, store, cook and distribute such large quantities of free food statewide,” he said.

“Reluctantly, we have had to reduce food delivery services to the North-East and West Coasts from weekly to fortnightly, and from fortnightly to monthly.

“This is at a time when we have a waiting list of schools and community agencies wanting our help.”

Loaves and Fishes currently feed 16,000 Tasmanians a week through around 350 community agencies.

Annually they distribute around one million kilos of largely donated food in the form of fresh produce, ready-to-eat meals, emergency food hampers and school breakfast supplies. 

Mr Hillier said while the state government meets around half of the charity’s budget, the level of service they provide is not viable long term without increased funding.