Details About the Food Collective

After making almost 5000 deliveries last year, during the lockdown, in our trusty steed, Fergus the Food Truck, we were all thrilled to begin 2021 by opening the doors to the Whittlesea Food Collective supermarket.

Since welcoming our first few families into the supermarket in January, we have been gradually growing our service to the point where we are now serving up to 40 local families each week with free pantry items, fresh produce and frozen meals. Our food has come various sources, including local businesses and donations from FareShare, individuals and local organisations.

Our clients come from many different backgrounds and situations, and it’s a privilege to be able to meet a small practical need in their lives and to connect with the diverse people that

make the City of Whittlesea such a wonderful place to live and work.

Of course, none of what we do would be possible without our superstar volunteers, who bring an incredible enthusiasm and dedication to our cause. We are also thankful for the members of our community who have begun donating their excess home-grown fruit and vegetables – every little bit helps!

We’re excited for what the rest of 2021 holds at the Whittlesea Food Collective. We will continue to grow and learn, finding more opportunities to connect with and serve our community.

What we provide

WFC provides different services that aim to develop a sustainable food relief program, including food production and distribution, plant and food-based enterprises, recycling and waste reduction and learning and employment pathways. We are here to:

Food Distribution Centre

A central point of donation and collection, with wrap around information, referral and casework services.

Demonstration Garden

A raised garden to supply the Food Distribution Centre, demonstrate ease of growing a range of foods and host edible gardening, composting, pruning, grafting workshops and introduction to horticulture and permaculture style courses and community events like ‘Harvest Festivals’.

Food Preparation

Use the commercial kitchen to prepare food for late use, for example by preserving and preparing frozen meals. Provide opportunities for community members to share their culinary skills and host food handling training and cooking courses.

Community Education / Workshop

We let community members and groups share their knowledge with others which involve cooking and gardening.

Whittlesea Food Collective also supports other food relief providers in the region. To establish and operate the food collective, we need to increase our support from the community through donations of goods, services and money.

Why we are doing this