Food Justice



Albert Street Community Cupboard (Brunswick)
Township/suburb:
Brunswick
Municipality:
Merri-Bek
BANSIC Food Hub
Township/suburb:
Heidelberg West
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

The BANSIC Food Hub provides food assistance to residents of southern Banyule who are struggling with food security. Clients are provided with a range of groceries, such as fresh produce, eggs, meat, pantry items and bread, all free of charge.

The hub is open from midday to 3pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Members of the Banyule community who are in a financial crisis can access their service by ringing them on 9459 5959 to request a food parcel. The food parcels can be accessed generally every 2 weeks for eligible clients.

The hub’s supporters include SecondBite, Foodbank, Aldi, Woolworths and Sustainable MacLeod. SecondBite, Foodbank and Aldi donate non-perishable pantry items, fresh fruit and vegetables. Woolworths in Heidelberg donate eggs. Sustainable Macleod donates locally grown vegetables.

Blackburn North Community Cupboard
Township/suburb:
Blackburn North
Municipality:
Whitehorse
Notes (in their own words):

Grab food for your cupboard or leave something to share.

Free for everyone.

Fresh food donations are welcome. Please do not leave items that need to be refrigerated. Non-perishable food pantry staples can be donated to the food pantry inside the building.

CareNet
Name:
Township/suburb:
Templestowe
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

Carenet is a food relief organisation that provides both pre-packed hampers and client-selected items for people who need them.

The hampers can contain a selection of fresh, frozen and non-perishable products including fresh fruit & vegetables, cleaning & hygiene products, frozen meals, and cat & dog food. They are available on referral, including self-referral, using a simple referral form. The hampers can be picked up from Manningham Christian Centre every Tuesday between 10am and 2pm.

They also have an initiative called The Social Grocer where customers can go to the Manningham Christian Centre and help themselves to whatever they would like and are encouraged to pay what they can. As at mid 2023, The Social Grocer is open every Thursday, 10am-midday.

Carenet also has a mobile pantry which gives out free food plus cleaning and hygiene products. As at mid 2023, the pantry’s schedule is:

  • Doncaster Pentecost Church: every Thursday, 3-5pm; 8 Montgomery Street, Doncaster East.
  • Warrandyte Neighbourhood House: every Wednesday, 10am-midday; in the car park, Level 1/168 Yarra Street, Warrandyte.
  • Wonga Park Community Cottage: every other Wednesday, 12.30-2.30pm; Unit 1/9-13 Old Yarra Road, Wonga Park.

Finally, Carenet is part of The Food Collective, where they assist with food distribution, packing food hampers and pantry re-stocking.

CareNet is part of the Manningham Christian Centre.

Darebin Information, Volunteer & Resource Service
Township/suburb:
Preston
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

Darebin Information, Volunteer & Resource Service (DIVRS) is a community organisation that connects people in Darebin to opportunity, community and support. DIVRS’s services, programs and information are free. For around 50 years, DIVRS has helped people experiencing personal and financial issues with information, referrals, support, advocacy, financial & bill help and material aid, including food.

DIVRS’s Urban Food Program promotes a vision of local food systems that are secure, sustainable and fair. Volunteers in the program grow and harvest fresh food in gardens and backyards across Darebin to be shared with people in the community experiencing food insecurity. On average, DIVRS supports 150 to 200 Darebin households each week.

The Darebin Fruit Squad is a community fruit harvesting project, also part of the Urban Food Program. A group of trained volunteers harvest excess fruit from registered households in and around Darebin. This fruit is then shared with people in the community experiencing food insecurity.

You can get involved by: donating fresh fruit; becoming a Fruit Squad household or picker; or volunteering in one of their community resource gardens to grow fresh vegetables and herbs to share.

Diamond Creek Community Pantry
Township/suburb:
Diamond Creek
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Diamond Valley FoodShare
Township/suburb:
Greensborough
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

Every Monday to Friday between 1pm and 3pm, Diamond Valley FoodShare provides free food to Banyule residents in need of emergency assistance. Around 50,000 meals are given out each year, and around 400 individuals receive meals in any given month.

People are referred to the FoodShare after visiting either Diamond Valley Community Information Centre in Greensborough Plaza or Banyule Support & Information Centre (BANSIC) at The Mall, Heidelberg West. Recipients receive parcels containing enough food for three to four day periods. The food parcels can be accessed twice each month.

Most of the food comes from the two major Melbourne-wide food relief organisations, namely Foodbank and SecondBite. FoodShare’s volunteers visit Foodbank every fortnight and pick up around 200Kg of fruit and veggies plus some pastries and refrigerated goods. They visit SecondBite every week and pick up around 80Kg of fruit and veggies.

They also collect donations from a variety of local sources with the collection points including five local Woolworths supermarkets, Foodworks Ivanhoe and Diamond Village and Diamond Creek IGA supermarkets. Spoilable foods are collected in a refrigerated van which was purchased with the aid of a cash donation from Watsonia RSL.

Read an interview from April 2018.

Eastern Food Rescue (formerly Food is Free Mitcham)
Township/suburb:
Mitcham
Municipality:
Whitehorse
Notes (in their own words):

Eastern Food Rescue (formerly Food is Free Mitcham) is an outdoor free access pantry for everyone who eats food, where locals can either donate goods or take things that they need. As well as the pantry in Mitcham, there is another in Ringwood, at the Salvation Army, 49-53 Wantirna Road.

The main aims are to avoid food and goods going into landfill and to help those in the community who may be struggling. An added bonus is that having the pantry in the community boosts morale and gives everyone a warm fuzzy feeling.

They collect donations from various local businesses to help keep the pantry full and also rely on community donations from neighbours. You can donate anything going unused in your pantry (no open packets), excess produce from your garden, or household items such as toiletries and nappies. If you donate fresh fruit, vegetables or bread, please post on their Facebook group to make sure that people can collect it quickly.

A special thanks to their regular donors: Bakers Bun (The Pines), Bakers Delight (Brentford Square, Wantirna Mall & Vermont South), Wendy’s Bakery (Mitcham), Mylk Bar (Mitcham) and Two Brothers (Mitcham).

Eltham Community Pantry
Township/suburb:
Eltham
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Eltham Community Pantry
Township/suburb:
Eltham
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Managed by LINC on behalf of The Food Collective.

FareShare
Name:
Township/suburb:
Abbotsford
Municipality:
City of Yarra
Notes (in their own words):

FareShare rescues food that would otherwise go to waste and cooks it into free nutritious meals for people in need. In Melbourne, with the help of 900 regular volunteers, it cooks around 5,500 free meals a day (i.e. around 1.3 million meals a year) for charities such as soup vans, homeless shelters, women’s refuges and community food banks. Its rescued food comes from supermarkets, wholesalers, farmers and other businesses (they have eight vans that collect produce from Woolworths stores and others). By avoiding food waste, and diverting surplus, edible food from landfill, it also reduces greenhouse gases. Its Melbourne headquarters is in Abbotsford.

Fareshare is a charity which relies on donations. Donate now.

Sourcing enough fresh vegetables to add nutrition to meals is one of FareShare’s biggest challenges. It now has three sites in and around Melbourne where it grows its own vegetables, harvesting around 100 tonnes per year. One of those sites is in Abbotsford, which was previously disused VicTrack land but now grows a range of vegetables on 70 beds tended by volunteers, who are overseen by a Garden Manager. The choice of vegetables grown is dictated by the needs of the kitchen, which means that there is a focus on capsicums, carrots, celery, eggplants, leeks, parsnips, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, turnip and zucchini.

FareShare has written a manual to share their experiences of urban food production. Subjects covered include: crops grown and yield; soil; composting; integrated pest management; crop rotation; and companion planting. Click here to download.

Food is Free Blackburn
Township/suburb:
Blackburn
Municipality:
Whitehorse
Notes (in their own words):

This is a social permaculture initiative to share resources, distribute surplus, create connection, help other people, and strengthen community ties.

Food is Free Hurstbridge
Township/suburb:
Hurstbridge
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This initiative is one of a number of related food-related initiatives at the site (others include a food swap, a community garden and a seed library).

The Food is Free table is situated under the verandah outside the entrance to the Hurstbridge Community Hub.

Anyone in the community can take from table and you don’t need to contribute anything or leave items in its place. Homegrown food and other items that are left over from the twice monthly food swap are placed on the Food is Free table for everyone in the community to access.

Individual donations of food and garden-related items can be left on the table at any time. Don’t throw those extras in the compost, red bin or recycle: share them with the community!

You can join their Facebook group for regular updates on what is happening.

Food is Free Nunawading
Township/suburb:
Nunawading
Municipality:
Whitehorse
Notes (in their own words):

Food is Free Nunawading aims to give back and build community connections through the sharing of surplus food and produce.

Food is Free Ringwood East
When:
Open 24/7
Township/suburb:
Ringwood East
Municipality:
Maroondah
Notes (in their own words):

People leave surplus from their pantry or garden. It is all about community and contribution. Generosity, in giving and receiving. All are welcome. It is all free. Located on the fence line and open 24/7.

Food is Free Warrandyte
Township/suburb:
Warrandyte
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

The food has all been donated— it’s fresh and free to anybody who needs it. There are gold coin donation boxes to help people feel more comfortable taking the food.

Food is Free, Kilsyth
When:
Open 24/7
Township/suburb:
Kilsyth
Municipality:
Yarra Ranges
Notes (in their own words):

Give what you can, take what you can use. For all neighbours to share in: unopened pantry, toiletries & sanitary items; fresh garden veggies & fruits; and bakery items.

Greenhills Neighbourhood House
Township/suburb:
Greensborough
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

Greenhills Neighbourhood House has a food relief centre that offers fresh food, pantry items and toiletries on Thursdays and Fridays each week (except between Christmas and New Year). They also serve low-cost barista coffee. More generally, they offer support to everyone and can also give referrals to other connected programs.

In line with their model of ‘donate what you can and take what you need’, they accept donations from the local community.

They often organise swaps (of books, puzzles, plants and clothes) to reduce waste in the community.

They have community composting and recycling programs plus a number of veggies beds.

Grow Free, Lalor
Township/suburb:
Lalor
Municipality:
Whittlesea
Notes (in their own words):

‘Grow Free’ is a movement “dedicated to making our food locally grown, organic and free” and they are currently” all about growing and giving away free organic, heirloom veggie/herb/flower seedlings for people to get their garden going“. The movement started out in Adelaide but is now coming to Melbourne.

Heathmont Community Pantry
Township/suburb:
Heathmont
Municipality:
Maroondah
Notes (in their own words):

Heathmont Community Pantry is a free access pantry where locals can either donate goods or take what they need. Help them divert food from landfill and help out the community at the same time.

Hurstbridge Community Pantry
When:
Open 24/7
Township/suburb:
Hurstbridge
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Managed by Vines Baptist Church on behalf of The Food Collective.

Montrose Community Cupboard
Township/suburb:
Kilsyth, Montrose
Municipality:
Yarra Ranges
Notes (in their own words):

Montrose Community Cupboard is much more than a community pantry and undertakes a wide range of activities in pursuit of its mission to rescue food from landfill and re-distribute it to the local community.

They have two community pantries, a weekly Saturday market and monthly community meals.

The two community pantries are located at Japara Bridge House, 49 Durham Road, Kilsyth and Montrose Church of Christ, 7 Leith Road, Montrose. The Kilsyth pantry is open 24/7 whilst the Montrose one is open Monday-Saturday 7am-9pm and Sunday midday-8pm. Members of the public can take what they want and are also invited to leave veggies, fruit, herbs, plants, seeds, seedlings or any non-perishable items.

The weekly market is on Saturdays, 3-4pm at either Japara Bridge House, 49 Durham Road, Kilsyth or Montrose Scout Hall, Unit 2/950, Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, Montrose. See their website for which markets will be at which locations. All the food at the market is free.

The free, monthly, two course, community meals are usually on the 4th Sunday of each month, 6-7.30pm, at Montrose Public Hall, 1B Leith Road, Montrose. Everyone is welcome, as are donations of non-perishable food. During winter (June and August), there will be a lunchtime meal instead, with the team taking a break for the month of July. Read an article about the meals in the Lilydale Star Mail.

Finally, they have a street library (books, dvds, etc) at 16 St James Avenue, Montrose.

Panton Hill Community Pantry
When:
Open 24/7
Township/suburb:
Panton Hill
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Managed by the Living & Learning Centre on behalf of The Food Collective.

Reservoir Neighbourhood House
Township/suburb:
Reservoir
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

Reservoir Neighbourhood House has a ‘community pantry’, which is simply an open cupboard fixed to the outside wall to which people can either donate, or freely take out, any non-perishable food. In practice, most of the food is bought from a local supermarket using a local, grant.

It appears that most of the food is taken within a few hours of being placed there. In response, although the Neighbourhood House staff buy most of the produce on a Monday morning, they spread out the timing of its placement in the pantry. Anyone can take anything that they want whenever they want and they don’t need to interact with the Neighbourhood House staff to do so.

Monday to Thursday, the Neighbourhood House is open for emergency food relief. On Monday nights and Thursday mornings, they give away free bread. Every other Tuesday, they have a delivery of fresh produce. On the 2nd Tuesday of every month, they have a free lunch.

Reservoir share table
When:
Open 24/7
Township/suburb:
Reservoir
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

This share table was started after reading about the Food is Free movement and initially comprised seedlings from CERES that were not quite good enough for them to sell at their nursery. This grew into bringing excess home and leaving them for others in the neighbourhood to rescue. More recently, a planter box has been added that others can take herbs from plus a box to share excess produce. The initiative has also fostered stronger connections between the neighbours.

Updates about availability are posted to the Reservoir Plant Exchange and Reservoir Good Karma Network Facebook groups.

Rosanna Community Pantry
When:
Open 24/7
Township/suburb:
Rosanna
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Managed by Rosanna Fire Station Neighbourhood House on behalf of The Food Collective.

SecondBite Diamond Creek
Township/suburb:
Diamond Creek
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

SecondBite in Diamond Creek is open every Saturday, 9-10am. It provides, at no cost, a wide variety of fresh produce and other edible goods available to those facing food insecurity or challenges. No referral is required; just drop by and collect fruit and vegetables that would otherwise have gone to waste. Any surplus that is left over is then taken to the Food is Free table in Hurstbridge.

The initiative is operated by The Rotary Club of Diamond Creek in partnership with SecondBite. The aims are to lessen waste and reduce hunger by:

  • Giving food producers and retailers the opportunity to reduce surplus and unsold food.
  • Re-distributing high quality surplus food to the community.
  • Diverting nutritious, edible, quality food from entering landfill, thus promoting environmental well-being.
Strathewen Community Pantry
When:
Open 24/7
Township/suburb:
Strathewen
Municipality:
Nillumbik
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Managed by the school on behalf of The Food Collective.

Strathewen
Township/suburb:
Greensborough
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

The Food Collective is an initiative of Diamond Valley Community Support which brings together a number of local delivery and donation partners, community organisations and individuals to address food security challenges for vulnerable and disadvantaged community members in the Diamond Valley Region. They do this by sourcing and supplying basic non-perishable food parcels of everyday necessities to those who are experiencing financial crisis and needing emergency relief assistance.

One of its main initiatives to date has been the establishment of community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food.

Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Their pantries are in:

  • Diamond Creek (St Johns Diamond Creek). Open 24/7.
  • Eltham (Eltham Lions Club). Open 24/7.
  • Eltham (St Margaret’s Anglican Church). Open 24/7 and managed by LINC.
  • Hurstbridge (Hurstbridge Community Hub). Open 24/7 and managed by the Vines Baptist Church.
  • Panton Hill (Panton Hill Living & Learning Centre). Open 24/7 and managed by the living & learning centre.
  • Rosanna (Rosanna Fire Station Community House). Open 24/7 and managed by the community house.
  • Strathewen (Strathewen Primary School). Open 24/7 and managed by the school.
  • Warrandyte (Warrandyte Neighbourhood House). Open Wednesdays, 10am-midday and managed by Carenet.
  • Watsonia (Watsonia Neighbourhood House). Open 24/7 and managed by the neighbourhood house.
The Food Collective (Whittlesea)
Township/suburb:
Epping
Municipality:
Whittlesea
Notes (in their own words):

The Food Collective aims to develop an integrated response to people experiencing hardship, where the response includes food production and distribution, plant and food-based enterprises, recycling and waste reduction and learning and employment pathways. It delivers individuals with fresh, nourishing food, free of cost, to eligible residents in the City of Whittlesea.

It has a café and catering social enterprise, whose purpose is “to deliver training and employment pathways for young people and people from migrant and refugee backgrounds, supporting them to build confidence to work and develop skills in hospitality.” They deliver Monday to Friday, with a minimum spend of $200, and with deliveries within 5km of Epping incurring a flat rate of $25. Read their menu. Contact them by phone (0498 576 005) or email (catering@foodcollective.org.au).

It also has a produce box scheme, which aims to increase community access to healthy, affordable and locally grown food, with a focus on people experiencing food insecurity. They fill the boxes every Tuesday morning, and you can then either: pick up from the Whittlesea Food Collective Tuesday (12.30-4pm) or Wednesday (9.30am-2pm); or have it delivered for free on Tuesday (between 2pm – 6pm) to postcodes in the City of Whittlesea and some surrounding suburbs. Order here.

The collective provides opportunities for people to volunteer and participate in community activities (see application form). And it accepts donations (see donations form).

Its resources include a demonstration veggie garden and a commercial kitchen.

The Food Collective is a partnership between Whittlesea Community Connections and the Whittlesea Emergency Relief Network. It is part of a broader project, the Whittlesea Community Farm and Food Collective, which is a partnership between Whittlesea Community Connections, Yarra Valley Water, Melbourne Polytechnic and City of Whittlesea.

Thornbury Church of Christ
Township/suburb:
Thornbury
Municipality:
Darebin
Notes (in their own words):

They operate a food relief/rescue program, open Mondays and Wednesdays 2.30-5pm and Fridays 10am-12:30pm. The produce available includes bakery items, fresh fruit and vegetables, frozen pre-cooked meals and various pantry items. Anyone can come, it is a walk in service and no ID is required. Donations are always welcome.

There is a outdoor community pantry (Smith St Community Pantry), which is open 24/7 and is accessible from the footpath on the Smith Street side of the church property. Give what you can and take only what you need. As well as unopened non-perishable food, it often contains bread and garden produce plus toiletries and cleaning products. It is always open for donations.

The pantry has its own Facebook and Instagram pages.

The Think Local Community Cafe, which is a social enterprise business, operates from a food truck at the front of the church and is open Monday to Friday, 6am-1pm. They do coffee, toasties and a selection of vegan/gluten free muffins and cakes. It will hopefully generate funds to begin a weekly evening meal in the future.

Warrandyte Community Pantry
When:
Open on Wednesdays only, 10am-midday
Township/suburb:
Warrandyte
Municipality:
Manningham
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Managed by Carenet on behalf of The Food Collective.

Watsonia Community Pantry
Township/suburb:
Watsonia
Municipality:
Banyule
Notes (in their own words):

This is one of 9 community pantries around Banyule and Nillumbik. These pantries contain non-perishable food which is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, require no appointments and are open to whoever needs food. Their philosophy is give what you can, take what you need, with people able to donate to the pantry as well.

Managed by Watsonia Neighbourhood House on behalf of The Food Collective.