The City of Greater Bendigo has committed to support Bendigo Foodshare’s fit out of their new warehouse premises in Garsed Street with a $140,000 funding contribution.
City of Greater Bendigo Mayor Cr Jennifer Alden said Bendigo Foodshare has recently secured a long-term lease and significant Victorian Government and philanthropic funding to fit out and provide a range of other activities at the expanded warehouse facility at the former ice works site in Garsed Street that provides for Foodshare to become a Regional Food Relief Hub
“The Garsed Street site is now the focus for Bendigo Foodshare’s future operations and Council has made a decision to support this project through both cash and in-kind assistance and cease further investigations to establish a community food hub at the Belle Vue Road site in Golden Square and refocus support where appropriate to Garsed Street,” Cr Alden said.
“The City has worked closely with Bendigo Foodshare since 2015 to develop a Community Food Hub that provides a long-term sustainable facility that will help address food insecurity that exists in our community. This work has included a feasibility study, multiple site investigations, development of a business case and concept master plans with funding provided in the Council’s 2019/2020 budget.
“The establishment of a Regional Food Relief Hub is important for Greater Bendigo. The City is keen to support Bendigo Foodshare and other stakeholders to investigate the potential for additional complementary elements of the planned Community Food Hub that may be suitable to be located at the Garsed Street site.”
Investigating the feasibility of a Greater Bendigo Food Hub was first identified as a key recommendation in the 2014 Bendigo Food Security Report which reflected the existence of a high level of food insecurity in Greater Bendigo.
A high level of food insecurity was also reflected in the 2019 Active Living Census with one in ten households, or 9.6 per cent of the population not having enough food to eat at least once in the past 12 months. (In some suburbs this figure increased to 18.6 per cent of the population.)
