Thousands of food cans donated to Soup Bus amid growing food insecurity

Year 11 vocational major students from Phoenix P-12 Community College this week handed over 2500 food tins and other assorted items to the Soup Bus following a food drive involving the school and wider community.

"It is an amazing donation but we will probably go through it within a week," said Soup Bus founder Craig Schepis.

The Soup Bus is on the front line of increasing food insecurity in Ballarat.

In addition to feeding a growing homeless population from the bus in their CBD location five nights a week, Soup Bus is now supporting more than 150 families a week with food packs - three times more than a year ago.

Soup Bus volunteers now feed 12,000 to 14,000 people a year at its CBD site, up from 10,000 to 12,000 a year ago, and in the coming weeks will open a new location in Wendouree that will initially provide meals two nights a week.

Mr Schepis told the 19 Phoenix students who coordinated the food drive that much of the food donated from the school would be in the cupboards or on the plates of struggling families within days.

The students smashed their initial goal of 1000 donated canned items then set an ambitious goal of 5000 but were happy with the difference that 2500 cans of food will make.

Teacher Kiya Eberle said the students had used many different techniques to garner donations from families and local businesses, setting up collection points and holding a "cupcake trade" where students could trade a canned food item for a cupcake.

"It really built a community ... there was quite a buzz and was exciting to see kids get excited about giving back," she said.

Mr Schepis said last year the volunteers noticed a growing number of families visiting Soup Bus for meals and realised that providing food packs of non-perishable items would take pressure off the bus and help stock the cupboards of families directly.

"The cost of living has been huge and if we can alleviate them needing to come directly to the bus it allows them a bit more dignity as well which is great," he said.

"From June to December (last year) that was 47 families weekly and ... about a month ago that had grown to 157 families directly coming through on a weekly basis."

The donation from Phoenix came just at the right time, with volunteers concerned on Monday that stocks were low and they might need to put a call out on social media for more donations.

An average of 55 people a night come to Soup Bus in the CBD for a meal, with numbers ranging from 40 to 65.

Rotary now donates about 60 dozen litres of long life milk each month, up from eight dozen a year ago, and last term Miners Rest Primary School donated 526 litres of milk.

The food charity is also preparing to open a second venue in Wendouree which will initially open on Tuesday and Thursday nights from late October or early November.

"It's been well over 10 years that Wendouree has been asking us to come out there," Mr Schepis said.

Soup Bus will run at the old Wendouree Neighbourhood Centre in Violet Grove with a recruitment campaign underway for new volunteers to help run the service.

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"It's a great venue, indoors so we can have it heated and cooled, and people will come in to the kitchen then go and sit down in the dining area and just enjoy a meal and some fellowship," he said. "It's also got an outdoor area under cover and we are very excited."

Soup Bus has been operating in Ballarat for 15 years, and Mr Schepis said a Wendouree location to meet the needs of the community had been in their sights for about 12 of those years.

"We have no idea how many will attend. We know there is need and demand has been huge and it's continuing to grow - we do what we can," he said.

Mr Schepis said the service was looking for more volunteers, with training information sessions to be held next week, and looking for more businesses who might be able to come on to the Soup Bus roster to help provide casseroles and other meals.

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