Excess food wastage in our homes has a real and direct impact on our finances.

Our friends at Love Food Hate Waste Victoria have put together some very eye-opening numbers about how much it’s actually costing us:

• The average Victorian household throws out $2,200 worth of food each year – that's $42 per week!

• One fifth or 20% of the yearly grocery budget is wasted on average. That's like throwing out 1 in every 5 bags of food you buy!

• Victorians collectively throw out $4 billion worth of food each year – that’s enough to feed 367,000 families for a year, based on a weekly spend of $207.

• Victorians throw away $700 million worth of leftovers per year – that’s enough to buy laptops for 580,000 school children

At the same time there is a human element to the story of food waste that is important to connect to.

There is a growing demand and need for rescuing and donating leftover food to our homeless and hungry community members.

A local Yarra organisation, FareShare, has answered the call and needs your help. They rescue food that would otherwise end up in landfill and provide meals to those in need.

According to the Foodbank Hunger Report 2016, one in six Aussies will experience at least one occasion of food insecurity every year.

Some 644,000 people in this country are receiving food aid each month – a third of them children. In Victoria alone, welfare agencies estimate an average 32 per cent more food is need to meet demand.

FareShare is determined to feed as many children as possible.

Sadly, one third of those seeking emergency food reliefs are now children. 

Many people facing crisis particularly struggle to afford fresh, nutritious food. It has become more expensive to buy fresh fruit, vegetables and lean meat than it is to purchase highly processed food with less nutritional value. This is the modern face of hunger.

A local Yarra organisation, FareShare, has answered the call and needs your help. They rescue food that would end up in landfill and provide meals to those in need.

Please visit the FareShare Winter Appeal to find out how you can help:

• $50 will enable us to cook 66 free, nutritious meals for kids doing it tough.
• $100 rescues $1,000 worth of fresh veggies, meat, and dairy produce.
• $200 provides 266 free, hearty meals to charities such as LiveWires, the Children First Foundation, and Launch Housing.
• $500 keeps three FareShare vans on the road for a week to rescue food and redistribute it to children and families in crisis.

Please help FareShare provide good food to children to support their growth, social development and well-being while helping divert food from landfill.

Your tax deductible donation will make a tangible difference to the lives of young people doing it tough this winter.