Foodbank Victoria has warned the rising cost of living is seeing 50,000 Victorians seeking help with food per day, many of them for the first time.
The charity hosted drive-through food pickups on Sunday with thousands of people visiting sites in Dandenong and Epping to receive free hampers of vegetables and pantry essentials, coinciding with the start of the school holidays.
Foodbank Victoria says people with jobs have been using its services as they struggle to make ends meet.
Chief executive Dave McNamara said more people than ever were struggling to make ends meet due to rising costs across the country and his group was seeing many people with jobs seeking help after realising they were battling to feed their families.
He said it wasn’t just rough sleepers who were facing these difficulties.
“It’s not people in the street anymore; it’s people on your street,” McNamara told Channel Nine.
“We have people who have never been to a charity before and don’t know where to go.”
Foodbank Victoria set up the drive-through centres on Sunday as a way to make it easier for people who have never asked for help before to get some support.
“The cost-of-living pressures on individuals and families at the moment have spiked so dramatically and people are struggling to get back in front,” McNamara said.
“Not only are charities struggling right now to meet the demand as they come back from COVID, but people who are working and find themselves in this position for the first time, have no idea where to go.”
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