Farm to families
Hundreds of people gathered for fresh produce as Foodbank Victoria’s Farm to Families Market program came to Warragul for the first time on Friday.
From farm gate to dinner plate, the new Farms to Families program rescues food destined to be wasted and keeps hungry families well fed.
Foodbank Victoria agency relations coordinator Brien Baxter said Friday’s market aimed to help between 240 and 300 families with a week’s worth of fresh produce and milk.
“We’re the largest distributor of food relief in the state,” he said.
“We take top quality produce that would otherwise go to waste and distribute to agencies to distribute to the community.”
Mr Baxter said while most markets to date had been held in metropolitan Melbourne, Foodbank Victoria was working to bring its programs into country areas.
“We’ve had a market in Colac and this is our first time in Warragul,” he said.
“Often our markets are in Melbourne, but we’re trying to get more produce and product into Gippsland as a whole.
“We’re letting the world know that produce is available and the market is a good way to do that.”
More than 20 volunteers were on hand to greet people and pack produce, with 14 items on offer along with recipe cards to help people get the most out of their produce.
Mr Baxter said corporate donations allowed the markets to operate at no cost to agencies or the public.
“The markets run when we have received specific funds from another organisation that has an interest in expanding the opportunities for their staff to volunteer, or from companies that are happy to donate the cost of a market, but not be involved in the volunteering aspect,” he said.