The emergency relief sector in Victoria, Australia

Foodbanks Australia is the largest group of organisations providing food banks operations in Australia. In 2010/2011 they distributed about 21 million kilograms of food at little or no cost to approximately 2,500 welfare agencies in the emergency relief sector across Australia. The food comes from organisations throughout the food supply chain from farmers to supermarkets. Recent innovations in this supply include sourcing food from urban agriculture and organising Collaborative Supply Programs with manufacturers. Foodbanks supply much of the food that emergency relief agencies give to people in need as meals or as take home supplies. Providing food helps Emergency Relief organisations meet their clients' immediate physical needs and develops trust enabling other services, such as counselling to address the underlying causes, to be offered and accepted by clients. Emergency Relief organisations and Foodbanks have a distinct role to play in emergencies but should not be seen as part of a solution for social inequity.