Food charities in Victoria say the number of people experiencing food insecurity has “skyrocketed” and includes hundreds who previously did not need the extra support. Melbourne charity, Reaching Out In the Inner West of Melbourne, hands out free meals every Monday in the Nicholson St Mall of Footscray. Its founder Randa Beirouti says more than 500 people arrive to receive a cooked meal in a single day, compared to about 200 during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is affecting the lower class, middle class, upper-middle class. “There isn’t really any part of society that isn’t feeling the impact of this on their family budget.” He said Foodbank once relied on the public for 98 per cent of its donations but it was now having to use funds from its operations to make-up for a shortfall.