Food relief for city’s struggling residents

GEELONG council is setting up a new food relief centre, as more people are confronting periods when they are unable to buy food.

New statistics show that 4 per cent of residents ran out of food and couldn’t afford to buy more in the past 12 months.

Food insecurity is increasing in Greater Geelong and is higher than the Victorian average, the council’s latest public health and wellbeing plan reveals.

The council has settled on an undisclosed location for the centre and has set aside $75,000 to draw up plans.

The new food relief centre is part of a push to develop initiatives that increase access to healthy food.

The council has already ushered in a reduction of sugary drinks from its own facilities, and is promoting water in sport, healthy canteens and home and community gardens.

Health data reveals Geelong residents love takeaway food, drink a relatively high amount of soft drinks and don’t eat enough vegetables.

Just 10 per cent eat the recommended daily amount of vegetables, with 12 per cent of adults consuming sugarsweetened drinks every day.

Geelong adults are also drinking less water (4.9 cups) per day than the recommended average 8-10 cups.

However, residents do a relatively high amount of un- organised physical activity, with the percentage of adults classified as overweight or obese (49.1) less than the Victorian figure.

The council’s public health and wellbeing plan 2018-2021 also aims to: IMPROVE mental health through social connections; INCREASE participation in physical activity; and, INCREASE community safety and preventing violence and injury.

Achieving health equity is a key challenge,” council’s community life director Linda Quinn said.

“Councils have a key role in health prevention by creating healthy social and cultural, economic, built and natural environments.”

The city’s vulnerable are already serviced by the Geelong Food Relief Centre, which is one of the largest food banks in Victoria. The centre expects to help about 36,000 people in need of emergency food relief in 2018-19.