After more than a year of rising costs and interest rates, it’s no longer simply a cost of living crisis. There is a cost of loving crisis.

It’s the pain we feel when someone we know, someone we love, is struggling to get by.

It’s mums and dads pretending to have dinner ‘after lights out’ so their kids can eat. It’s students fainting because they’ve had to choose rent over food and Nana having biscuits for every single meal. Or nothing at all when she saves the biscuits for when the grandkids visit.

You can’t put numbers around this crisis, but you can put your arms around people – and that’s what we do. Every day.

Over 30 per cent of the people turning up for assistance now have never been to a charity before because they have predominantly never needed to. Many of them used to donate to Foodbank and now they’re relying on Foodbank.

“We’re feeding 50,000 people every day, and I know those numbers will continue to rise as the weather gets colder and families are forced to choose between heat and food, rent and food, or mortgages and food,” Dave McNamara, CEO Foodbank Victoria said.

You can help us wrap our arms around families this winter so they can all enjoy fresh, healthy food together!