Corryong’s Foodshare volunteers have long been operating out of a building that’s too small.
Corryong Foodshare co-founder, Pastor Carol Allen, said demand had increased by more than 350 per cent in the past four years.
“It’s still growing even more with the cost of living at the moment … more and more people are in need,” Pastor Allen said.
With the French donation, the Corryong Foodshare team purchased a large transportable building, giving them plenty of room to grow.
Corryong Foodshare volunteer Jan Hastings says the support of Villers-Bretonneux had made all the difference.
“We’ve been working on this for quite a few years … and now we’ve got the property, we’ve got the building, and everything has just come together.”
And she said it had come when the community needed it most.
“Now there’s another crisis where people can’t afford to buy food for themselves,” she said.
“And even though we have a supermarket and everything else here, something like Foodshare is crucial for people struggling to make ends meet.”