Albury-Wodonga Regional FoodShare board member Joseph Lumanog and Julia Lamanog (front) with CEO Katrina Pawley, Nicole Eirth, Amanda Cohn and Geoffrey Hudson at the warehouse where donations have been pouring in from Border residents eager to help those impacted by the bushfires. Photos: Supplied.
A rapid outpouring of generosity from Border residents saw more than four tonnes of donations arrive at Albury Wodonga Regional FoodShare over the weekend for victims of the Upper Murray bushfires.
Albury-Wodonga Regional FoodShare CEO Katrina Pawley said the community’s eagerness to help had been extraordinary — and immediate.
“The community started responding before we even asked,” Ms Pawley said.
On Saturday (10 January), FoodShare put out a call on Facebook asking for donations to support bushfire evacuees, opening its Wodonga warehouse on Sunday to accept donations from residents desperate to help those fleeing the Victorian fires.
The callout came as evacuees began arriving at the Emergency Relief Centre set up at Wodonga Racecourse on Friday evening.
By Sunday, more than 200 people had registered at the centre, with about 40 sleeping on site on mattresses on the floor of the exhibition centre, in caravans and trailers, and a further 20 people in local hotels off site, according to Ms Pawley.
“We don’t typically open the warehouse on a Sunday, but there just wasn’t sufficient room or facilities at the centre to accept donations,” she said.
“People said they were sitting at home watching news of the bushfires unfolding and the smoke all around and felt they needed to do something to help. This was an opportunity for people to come in and offer that help.”
By Sunday evening, more than 4000 kilograms of food items had been donated at the warehouse and a further 40 to 50 people had signed up to become volunteers, swelling the number of registered helpers at the charity to nearly 250.
At the same time, Ms Pawley said FoodShare was also able to respond to an SOS from the Towong Valley, which was under threat, sending up two full ute-loads of supplies, including pre-packed hampers, water and other snack items for farmers and firefighters.
She said salient lessons had been learned from the catastrophic 2019-2020 Upper Murray fires and more efficient processes put into place “to ensure we could be better prepared to help”.
Albury-Wodonga Regional FoodShare volunteers hard at work preparing hampers to support bushfire evacuees.
“The last time we reacted to crisis — this time we were able to act efficiently and effectively, recording the volumes of food and donations coming in, for example,” Ms Pawley said.
“At midday on Friday, we had a phone call from Wodonga Council and by 6 pm we were on site at the racecourse providing water, tea, coffee and meals to evacuees.
“One of the first people I helped said she was so grateful because she hadn’t eaten for two days — that’s what happens when you are preparing for the worst!”
At the weekend, volunteers had four microwaves, a toaster and sandwich maker on the go ready to heat up eight varieties of single-serve meals, or make ham-and-cheese toasties, with cereal, milk and other food staples available to evacuees at the emergency relief centre.
Ms Pawley said it was important for the community to understand that organisations such as FoodShare would remain involved in longer-term recovery efforts after the crisis stage passed.
“Once the fires are out and the evacuation centres are closed, for many it’s out of sight, out of mind,” she said.
“We are still supporting people who haven’t rebuilt from the last fires. Those houses that are destroyed don’t just come back in a month.
“Albury-Wodonga Regional FoodShare operates within about a 150-kilometre radius — we’re still helping supply bottled water to people who’ve been without running water for years!”
The current bushfire emergency highlighted the urgent need for a purpose-built facility to properly accommodate the scope and depth of the organisation’s work, Ms Pawley said.
Currently, the not-for-profit charity pays “commercial rates” on three separate warehouses, with additional freezer storage having to be accommodated 30 kilometres out of town. There is no commercial kitchen or laundry on site.
“It’s all a bit disjointed and we don’t ever want to turn away donations, but having a purpose-built facility would increase capacity-building — not just for emergencies such as bushfire, but for the people in the community we support on a day-to-day basis,” Ms Pawley said.
CEO Katrina Pawley said the Border and wider community’s response to helping those impacted by the current bushfires was immediate.
In the meantime, Ms Pawley said ongoing donations of funds and food items were greatly appreciated.
“Donations of food are fantastic, but we can also have a far greater impact with monetary support as we can, for instance, buy in bulk and make each dollar go further,” she said.
FoodShare currently needs ongoing donations of the following essential items:
- Tea, coffee, sugar, and biscuits
- Cereal and UHT milk
- Tinned baked beans, spaghetti, and tuna
- Sliced cheese, sliced ham, and butter
- Microwave meals (noodles, pasta, and rice-based)
- Snack foods (muesli bars, chips, crackers)
- Frozen meals (from the supermarket, including vegetarian options)*
- Salt and pepper
- Personal hygiene items (toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, etc.).
Albury-Wodonga Regional FoodShare accepts food donations to its Wodonga warehouse at 1/10 Stead Street or its FoodShare Community Pantry at 81 Wigg Street, Wodonga, between 8:30 am and 2:30pm weekdays. To find out more or donate much-needed funds, visit the website. You can also register to become a volunteer, with shifts available at the evacuation centre daily from 6:45 am to 9 pm. Register online.
