Yarrawonga Mulwala Community & Learning Centre will also receive $50,000 to purchase a van to deliver food and offer mobile social services such as financial wellbeing support, food literacy education, and social connection for Moira Shire communities.
The funding for Moira FoodShare will enable the purchase of an additional refrigerated van and essential staple items, helping Moira FoodShare continue its weekly food deliveries to towns that are often overlooked by traditional funding streams.
Moira FoodShare coordinator James Rouel said the support would directly improve food access for families facing significant geographic and economic barriers.
“Rural and remote communities are disproportionately affected by food insecurity. This grant helps us reach further into the small towns beyond the big regional centres and deliver more fresh food and essential staples,” Mr Rouel said.
The Victorian Government grant, combined with the Qantas Regional Grant received earlier this year, has significantly strengthened Moira FoodShare’s transport and food-safety capacity.
“Together, these grants have allowed us to renew our van fleet with higher-capacity vehicles that meet modern food-handling and cold-chain standards,” he said.
The new refrigerated van will support safer transport of fresh produce and improved temperature control across long rural routes, expanding Moira FoodShare’s ability to deliver food to 29 rural towns and 49 community partners across northern Victoria and southern NSW.
Moira FoodShare distributes more than 200,000 kg of food every year, equivalent to over 400,000 meals, with volunteers travelling thousands of kilometres each month to supply rural communities.
