We know that working through crisis, innovating, trying something new and focusing on big picture challenges, is impossible to do alone.
Kerry Farrance, Head of Impact, said the Foundation has developed the new Partnership Impact Fund to support the community to test, try and learn to tackle challenges in the community.
“Through this funding we hope to be seen as a “critical friend’ that walks alongside our partners to understand an issue, provide support at critical points, brainstorm ideas and partner in taking risks and trying something new,” she said.
Under the new Partnership Impact Fund, the Foundation has provided multi-year funding to the Geelong Food Assistance Network (GFAN) and OneCare Geelong to support the appointment of a new Geelong Food Assistance Network Coordinator role.
This new role, which has been funded by the Foundation along with the Anthony Costa Foundation and the Geelong Community Foundation, was created to provide support to the food relief agencies operating throughout the region. It assists in assessing the need of the food relief agencies in our region, supports them in finding solutions and develops resources and opportunities across the network.
Increasing demand for food relief
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased cost of living, there has been an increase in the number of people in our community experiencing food insecurity, including many who are accessing food relief for the first time in their lives.
Annette Devereaux, who has been employed in the new GFAN Coordinator role, said food relief services in Geelong are reporting an increase in requests for help across the region.
“Demand for food relief has increased and remains high. During COVID there was a lot of panic and people getting really concerned about how they would provide food for their family, particularly in isolation. And that’s continued to remain high, really high,” said Annette.
Along with increased demand, Annette said their other issues impacting the sector including volunteer recruitment, retention and training alongside more people needing to access food relief for the first time in their lives.
“During COVID a lot of the food relief agencies continued to operate, but in a limited capacity so volunteers fell away during that time. To get them back now that the services are open for face-to-face support again, has been really difficult for many agencies,” said Annette.
Volunteer training is another focus area for Annette in her new role.
“When I’ve gone to the agencies, I’ve asked them about what their needs are and one is certainly volunteer retention and recruitment, but the other one is volunteer training. Through COVID they’ve realised their clients are coming with more complex needs and sometimes presenting in really stressful situations… so knowing how to manage those clients has been really important.”
As often people seeking food assistance are also experiencing a range of other issues, including homelessness and poor mental and physical health, Annette said she is also educating the network about other community services within the region.
“Agencies have said that people are being referred to their service who are homeless, and so while, they can help with food they are unable to help clients with the other services they may need,” said Annette.
Annette has organised a community services expo to help educate volunteers in the Geelong Food Assistance Network about the different supports available and how to refer to those services.
Funding impact
Since the new role commenced in January, Annette said she has already been able to support various food relief organisations across the region to help them address the diverse needs of their clients.
Annette has created a newsletter to share resources including training opportunities and funding opportunities with the GFAN network, which has already proven to be an invaluable resource for the network.
Recently Annette shared information about an opportunity to upgrade existing fridges to new energy efficient fridges at no cost through the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program.
The Neighbourhood Centre in Forrest who needed to upgrade their fridge, was granted a brand-new fridge through this initiative, freeing up their funds to allow them to directly support their community.
Annette has also used her role to ensure that agencies have access to COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, courtesy of Barwon Health, to distribute to clients as needed. The City of Greater Geelong has also provided Annette with re-usable drink bottles to give to people accessing food relief.
She is also facilitating monthly training sessions through GFAN to ensure the sector has the knowledge it needs to provide the best possible support.