General News
18 June, 2023
Hunger starting to bite
A Horsham crisis centre is being run off its feet as the cost of living hits home harder – but volunteers say nobody in need will be turned away. Bev Miatke from the Christian Emergency Food Centre said the growing cost of living had led to an...
A Horsham crisis centre is being run off its feet as the cost of living hits home harder – but volunteers say nobody in need will be turned away.
Bev Miatke from the Christian Emergency Food Centre said the growing cost of living had led to an influx of new people seeking assistance, and while the centre was managing to cope, the food packages it provided were no longer sufficient for an entire month.
"We're still able to cope but people are just not lasting the month now on their packages," Ms Miatke said.
"We're having an increase in the average number of people per day. We used to go up and down on different days (but) now it seems that most days are fairly busy."
Ms Miatke said the centre was also seeing an increase in regular clients asking for help sooner than they usually would.
"Now they are often asking earlier, which means we're giving out more and more food, which is more expensive for us," she said.
"We do get a lot of stuff given to us from the bakeries and supermarkets but if what we generally supply isn't donated then we need to go and buy it."
Ms Miatke described one young woman who used the centre's services who was experiencing domestic violence.
"I had a young lady who was escaping domestic violence, covered in bruises and sore ribs and things like that, and we helped by putting her up in some accommodation," she said.
"There just seems to be no end to it.
"People are feeling like there's just not much hope and they're having to adjust their spending habits quite drastically.
"People are really doing it tough."
The emergency assistance service also supports clients in Hindmarsh, Yarriambiack and West Wimmera shires, mainly offering food services but also lending a hand to help pay for medical prescriptions.
"Please don't go without your medications because you can't afford them," Mrs Maitke said.
"You're prescribed them because you need them.
"If you need to travel to Melbourne or Ballarat for a medical appointment we can pay for the fuel to get there and then claim the patient transfer assistance fee back so that we can afford to help others.
"We can, to some extent, help with utility bills as well."
Ms Miatke said the centre could also simply offer helpful advice to anyone walking through its doors, on top of the other services it provided.
"Sometimes when the bills get particularly high, you think you don't actually need food, but it's the bills that are your problem," she said.
"If we can help with food, then that can free up a bit of money that people can put towards their bills. Sometimes it can just work that way as well."
Donations of non-perishable food items such as tinned food and packets of dried food, toiletries and fresh fruit and vegetables from people's gardens are all very much appreciated, especially as some families are forgoing some of the everyday purchases most of us take for granted in order to put food on the family table.
"Toiletries are the first things people go without when they are scraping together enough money to buy food," Ms Miatke said.
A recent FoodBank Hunger Report revealed that one in six adults and one in five children in regional areas experienced insufficient access to food.
And this report was published before the shock of power bills and escalating food prices began to take effect in recent months.
"We often hear the phrase 'You could be giving this to someone else' but we could be giving it to you too," Ms Miatke said.
"There's plenty to go around so just come in and ask.
"Often that's the hardest thing: just coming in and asking for help.
"It's wonderful to be able to help - so please come and ask."