Locals have opened their wallets and their hearts to raise more than $3000 for bushfire relief in a couple of hours during an initiative by Ocean Grove’s fastest growing charity.
Feed Me Bellarine, a local charity, which rescues food to feed locals in need, is one of many local organisations pitching in to help with bushfire relief.
One of the founders of the charity, Lana Purcell, said the organisation was in touch with all of the main agencies operating in the bushfire regions and was told that cash was the best thing at this stage of the relief effort.
“We had all this food given to us and just wanted to be able to do something to help,” Ms Purcell said.
“We were ready to get up to Gippsland and feed as many people as possible but the people in charge said the logistics of doing this was just too hard so they asked us if we could do something to raise cash.
“So we opened up the doors of our Sinclair Street headquarters for a lunch for locals asking people to come along and have some lunch with us and just give a donation of anything they could afford and more than $3000 later we are just so amazed by the generosity of the local community.”
People were also asked to bring along non-perishable food and toiletries which will be taken to the Victorian Food Bank for long term donations.
Feed Me Bellarine also recently held another successful volunteers induction evening and will soon open the doors on their initiative the Wasted Mini Mart.
The mini market is set up with the goal of providing high quality rescue food to the general public, as well as those in genuine need.
The charity is already helping around 200 struggling families across the Bellarine and all funds raised in the supermarket will go straight to expanding this important work.
Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer or becoming a regular donor or just supporter of this charity should make contact via the Feed Me Bellarine Facebook site.
