There remains no confirmed timeframe for when Ballarat's sorely needed FoodBank warehouse will open, five years after a funding pledge in the 2018 state government election.
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FoodBank Victoria chief executive officer David McNamara said the COVID-19 pandemic, construction costs and rising cost of living had taken a toll - "facing the same impacts as everyone else".
Construction has been complete on the warehouse since about mid-2023 as part of the first development stage in the Troon industrial estate in the Ballarat West Employment Zone. Exterior FoodBank branding signs are in place and shelving is visible through the windows.
"I'd love to tell you it's opening tomorrow, but that's just not the truth," Mr McNamara said.
"We'll be opening as soon as we can and firstly, we'll be opening to support our charity partners and then more broadly to the Ballarat and existing broader community as well."
The Andrews Government pledged $10 million to the establishment of FoodBank hubs in Ballarat and Morwell in 2018.
This came after extensive lobbying from The Ballarat Foundation in raising awareness on issues of food insecurity in the region, with the Foundation initially developing a community-led model in partnership with FoodBank as a means to tackle the rising issue.
At that time, a Ballarat Community Health and Monash University co-report flagged 12 per cent of Ballarat residents - or, about one in eight residents - were experiencing food insecurity.
Since then, pandemic lockdowns followed by a surge in interest rates and living costs has hit the community hard.
Frontline welfare agencies have been repeatedly reporting increasing demand for emergency relief through winter and now, leading into Christmas. This included many people who had never accessed food relief before.
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Mr McNamara said FoodBank's top priority was to look after its charity partners and to get this right before opening up to the wider community.
"We certainly don't want this to fall over for the community," Mr McNamara said.
"What we wanna do is what we've done since 1930, is we start something we're sustainable and we do it.
"Well, the last thing we wanna do is open too early and let the community down. That's something we've never done and that we'll never do."
FoodBank leaders were visiting Ballarat on Tuesday, November 14, for a charity partnership with McCain's, which is donating a day's production from pre-packaged foods in the Ballarat plant to FoodBank Australia distribution.
Once open, Mr McNamara said the Ballarat FoodBank's hub would have a community distribution centre to coordinate donations and relief to the Ballarat community.
