Community Pantry series - support from OzHarvest Melbourne

Pictured: OzHarvest driver Mick with our with our Retail Manager Larni. This large drop off of fresh fruit and vegetables will help us keep up with demand for Emergency Aid that has increased significantly since the beginning of the pandemic.

Have you ever wondered how our Community Pantries run, and how we source the food and grocery items to provide Emergency Aid to hundreds of local Melbourne families in need every week?

Throughout the 15 year history of Helping Hands Mission, our team have worked hard to develop great relationships with supermarkets, food manufactures and food rescue organisations who donate fresh, frozen and non-perishable food to our pantries every week.

Our Community Pantries have always been busy from the day we opened the doors back in 2016 - but since the pandemic started we've seen unprecedented demand from families in need of food aid, and new clients contact us to sign up for support every day.

Thankfully, we have strong partnerships with food rescue organisations such as OzHarvest, who provide nourishing fresh produce each week that our volunteers sort, pack and distribute to our pantry clients. An extra big delivery of produce like this one helps us ensure that all our clients can put fresh, nourishing food on the table for their families.

Pictured: One of our regular delivery drivers, Mick, who has been working with OzHarvest and dropping off to Helping Hands Mission for many years. We love his visits!

Helping Hands Mission is here to assist Victorians facing extreme circumstance - please call us on 1300 892 010 for more information about how we can support you, your friend or family member, or a client you’re working with.