As part of making our community a better place, Gluten Free 4 U is proud to announce its association with Feed Melbourne Appeal. The charity raises funds to help local charities collect, cook and distribute food to people in need.

The Feed Melbourne Appeal is an annual fundraising appeal conducted by Leader Community News, food charity FareShare, and Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation. Every dollar from the appeal helps individuals and families in Melbourne who are struggling with food insecurity.

Food security is a growing problem in Australia; this year over 370,000 Victorians will reach a point where they will not be able to afford to buy food. The face of food insecurity is diverse and spans generations, from students to the elderly, the working and the unemployed, to full-time carers and low-income parents struggling to provide their families with three meals a day. All funds raised by the Feed Melbourne Appeal are granted to Melbourne food service charities that provide meals and food hampers, and run soup kitchens, drop in centres and open pantries to assist people in need

HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION IN VICTORIA

• Each year two million Australians – or one in 10 people – seek assistance with food, approximately 600,000 of them are children. (Foodbank Australia).

• Some 60,000 low-income working families in Australia go without meals or are food insecure. (VIC Health, Healthy Eating – Food Security Investment Plan 2005 – 2010 (August 2005).

• 5.4 per cent of Victorians (6.2 per cent of women and 4.6 per cent of men) ran out of food and could not afford or access their next meal at least once during the year. (Victorian Population Health Survey (2009).

• In the past 10 years, the price of fresh food has increased significantly.

• Fewer than one in 10 adults (8.1 per cent) are meeting the recommended minimum daily intake for vegetables. And only 48 per cent of Victorians surveyed met the recommended minimum daily intake levels for fruit. (Victorian Population Health Survey 2009)