HelpingACT dreams of the day when everybody in Canberra is fed; it is, says founder Mohammed Ali, former Canberra Citizen of the Year, “our collective responsibility as a society that no-one sleeps hungry”.

Realising that dream seems further off as food insecurity increases. For some time, the charity has found it hard to finance its food relief operations, and struggled to meet the growing demand for help.

Despite the good efforts of NGOs and of government, Mr Ali worries that demand will increase.

Nevertheless, HelpingACT will keep the flame of its dream burning brightly, with the public’s assistance.

“HelpingACT is not an organisation only — it’s a movement,” Mr Ali said. “It’s a movement against hunger, it’s a movement against poverty, and it’s a movement to decrease the gap between haves and have-nots. When people are not struggling for basis, no matter how big a dream it is, it will be heaven on earth.”

Food insecurity worse than expected: 1.5 in 10 are struggling

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr Ali had hoped that hunger and poverty might lose their intensity once the virus was under control, and life returned to normal. Instead:

“The situation is grim — it’s worse than what we would expect,” Mr Ali said.

1.5 out of 10 Canberrans are struggling, Mr Ali says. Every week, at least one new family requests food assistance from HelpingACT.

Some are out of work, struggling to find a job. Others have health problems that prevent them from working. Isolated people come out of hospital to an empty larder. Women and children escape domestic violence, and need food and shelter. There is, too, a stream of refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Iran, trying to build themselves a new life in an unfamiliar country.

And many are full-time workers, unable to make ends meet now that the prices of some basic goods have increased by 20 or even 30 per cent in the last year, and they must choose between food, rent or mortgage repayments, power, or medicine.

HelpingACT providing more food

HelpingACT has doubled the quantity of food it gives out. Three years ago, the charity provided $750 worth of groceries to people in need per week; now, it is as much as $1,800.

Last year, on average, the charity supplied food packs every week for 12 families — but last weekend, 18 families were given bags of long-life food and fresh fruit and vegetables. That is not uncommon these days; sometimes, as many as 20 families seek relief.

A standard 8kg hamper is designed to last small households more than 10 days, but larger families now need more; some leave with three bags of food.

HelpingACT has expanded its community meals program from monthly to weekly barbecue dinners and lunches. Attendance numbers at those events have risen, too: more than 60 people (including families with children) regularly come to meals at Kippax Uniting Church; 25 to 30 at Tuggeranong Uniting Church; and nearly 40 at the Early Morning Centre. That homeless hub is “feeling the pinch” as demand grows, Mr Ali says.

In addition, HelpingACT stocks the pantries at Companion House (an organisation for traumatised refugees) and at Havelock House (for vulnerable people), and brings refugees’ staple foods to Woden Community Services.

HelpingACT’s school meals program, begun three years ago, is growing. Last month, they added Franklin School to the nine already on their list. Teachers worry those children may go without meals during the holidays, and pack food supplies to take home with them.

Mr Ali fears the problem is widespread, afflicting students at other schools, too. While HelpingACT welcomes the ACT’s Meals in Schools program (free breakfast and lunch at five public schools), Mr Ali believes the government should introduce a mechanism to identify how many students need food; if the government is providing more meals than needed at certain schools, he suggests, it could reduce the scale of the program at some schools, but expand it to others.

What the government can do

But the lack of storage space hampers the charity’s efforts. While HelpingACT has a small room at the Theo Notaras Centre, it is not enough, and Mr Ali has been trying for months to find somewhere larger. He had hoped for space at CIT Woden, but this has not yet eventuated. He would be glad to rent a couple of rooms from a community centre or similar. Perhaps, too, an organisation might be willing to pay a year’s rent.

The ACT and federal governments, Mr Ali suggests, could help by providing cheaper accommodation, rental subsidies, a short-term discretionary fund for struggling families, and increased welfare allowances to match inflation.

When the public battles between bills and bread, the government should lower bills — otherwise, he warns, the problem will increase.

The government could also build multistorey apartments for homeless people. Around 175 people live on the streets — the equivalent of two apartment buildings or a couple of dormitories.

How the public can help

HelpingACT relies 75 per cent on donations — 95 per cent of which go to helping others — and only partially on government grants.

“While our volunteers are extremely dedicated, we request all Canberra to be a bit more generous and send us donations … so that we are confident that for another six months, even if the increase is there, we’re able to meet the demand,” Mr Ali said.

Businesses could provide corporate support, even if only in their own interests. Not only, Mr Ali says, is it against workers’ dignity if they struggle at the end of the day to make ends meet, but hunger leads to mental illness and to burnout, affecting their productivity.

Mr Ali would like to multiply the number of donors tenfold. At the moment, a cohort of 300 people donate $10 on average; Mr Ali dreams of 3,000 Canberrans contributing $10 — the price of two cups of tea. If 1.5 people cannot afford food, then the other 8.5 should help them.

“We want a sustainable solution, a continuing flow of donations, so that the need for food plus other settlement services we offer can be addressed adequately.”

The public can donate online, via HelpingACT – Donate.

To request assistance for food or white goods, visit HelpingACT – Let Us Help You.

“We don’t want to say no to anyone needing food,” Mr Ali said. “Despite all sadness, we are hopeful we will be successful in protecting Canberrans from stresses and help treasuring their dignity.”