Ten thousand more meals will be provided to people in need by Canberra's only food rescue service thanks to a $10,000 community grant from the Medibank Community Fund (MCF).
Communities@Work's Yellow Van Food Rescue rescues 20,000 kilograms of otherwise wasted food from retail outlets across Canberra to feed vulnerable men, women and children experiencing domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse rehabilitation, mental health issues and disadvantage throughout the Canberra region.
Lynne Harwood, CEO at Communities@Work said the organisation's Social Programs are a vital resource for Canberrans experiencing hardship.
"Communities@Work's Yellow Van delivers much-needed food and nourishment to our Care&Share program, which provides financial, emotional and budgetary support to more than 2,000 families a month," said Ms Harwood.
According to Ms Harwood, Communities@Work has a deep social responsibility to deliver and grow its services for the rising number of disadvantaged people experiencing hardship throughout Canberra. Communities@Work also supports over 40 charities with their food provisions.
"We know how important our role in the community is in getting people back on track and our dedicated volunteers, devoted staff and generous organisations like the Medibank Community Fund are essential in maintaining this role both now and in the future".
Medibank Retail State Manager for ACT, Dilan Perera, said the organisation embraced the Medibank Community Fund's priorities of promoting healthy eating and greater community connectedness -the key selection criteria for the MCF grants program.
"Our Regional Council of Medibank employees from across the ACT expressed overwhelming support for Communties@Work's application because their program is the first of its kind in Canberra that provides vital food and emotional and financial support day in and day out to those who need it most," said Mr Perera.
"The Medibank Community Fund grants program was created to support and strengthen local, grassroots initiatives that aim to create a lasting and positive impact on the mental and physical wellbeing of people in the community and Communities@Work and its Social Programs are doing just that."
Communities@Work is one of 42 recipients chosen from more than 900 applications across Australian and New Zealand to receive a 2014 Medibank Community Fund grant.