Albury Wodonga FoodShare is calling on the community to GIVE 15 this Christmas, encouraging locals to make a small contribution that can make a big difference to individuals and families experiencing food insecurity across the region.
As FoodShare continues to celebrate 15 years of supporting local communities, this year’s Christmas Appeal is keeping things simple. Whether it’s $15, 15 non-perishable items or 15kg of groceries and personal hygiene essentials, everyone can get involved.
The appeal was officially launched at FoodShare’s Community Pantry on Wednesday 11 November, with local media personalities going head-to-head in a light-hearted hamper-packing challenge.
Competitors had just two minutes to pack a donation box as close to 15kg as possible, with Matt and Andrew from 2AY Radio claiming the heavyweight title and bragging rights with an impressive 15.1kg, narrowly beating Al from Triple M, who finished with 15.88kg.
Community Pantry Coordinator Nicole Eirth said the GIVE 15 campaign was designed to make it easy for everyone to contribute, regardless of the size of their donation.
“It’s such a simple way for everyone to get involved. You could organise a collection at work or school, or start a reverse Advent donation box at home, adding one item each day in the lead-up to Christmas,” Ms Eirth said.
To help get the community involved, FoodShare has donation boxes and promotional materials available for businesses, schools, community groups and individuals to collect from its Community Pantry in Wigg Street, Wodonga.
Once filled, boxes can be delivered to FoodShare’s upcoming FoodDrive for FoodShare Reverse Drive Thru, where volunteers will be ready to collect donations directly from vehicles, making it quick and easy to drop off much-needed food and essentials.
“This will be the third time we’ve run our Reverse Drive Thru. We’ve held one alongside each of our appeals over the year and collected more than 600kg of food each time. It would be fantastic to smash that record this Christmas!” Ms Eirth said.
“For the first time, we’re also opening the drive on Friday, hoping to make it easier for more schools and workplaces to drop by with their donations.”
While the organisation traditionally receives a surge of donations in the days immediately before Christmas, FoodShare is encouraging locals to get their contributions in earlier this year.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the generosity we see every Christmas, but by bringing donations in earlier, we can get food and essentials out to families over several weeks, giving them a little more certainty and one less thing to worry about,” Ms Eirth said.
“Whether you can give 15 items, 15kg or anything in between, every contribution helps make Christmas a little brighter for someone in our local community.”
FoodShare is also encouraging local businesses, workplaces and schools to rally their teams and organise a collection, with donation boxes, posters and postcards available to help spread the word.
“We’re more than happy to get some boxes out to you or have a pile ready for collection. It’s a great opportunity to bring people together and make a real difference locally,” Ms Eirth said.
Get involved this Christmas
To support FoodShare’s GIVE 15 Christmas Appeal, request a donation box or find out more about the upcoming Reverse Drive Thru, visit www.foodshare.org.au/appeal.
Every donation, big or small, helps FoodShare continue building food security across North East Victoria and Southern NSW.