While most of us are planning our food shopping lists for Christmas dinner there are many singles and families in the Stawell community who are food insecure - they regularly run out of food and can't afford to buy more and this can be most stressful at Christmas time.

In March 2016, to help alleviate the prevalence of food poverty and insecurity in the community, Stawell Neighbourhood House launched Stawell Food Connect - a food distribution program - in partnership with Stawell Regional Health, Grampians Community Health and the Grampians Food Alliance.

The aim of Stawell Food Connect is to provide easy access to nutritious food for those in need, build community strength in food skills and nutrition and advocate for the end of food insecurity. A side benefit is the low environmental impact - reducing the amount of food going to landfill, saving water, energy and food miles.

Using the Second Bite model, the program rescues and distributes surplus fresh food donated by Stawell Woolworths and Green Eggs in Great Western. Groceries and non-perishables are supplied from Food Bank in Melbourne.

Second Bite is a leading national food rescue organisation that rescues fresh food, that would otherwise go to waste, from across the national retail network, and redistributes it, free of charge, to more than 1,300 charities and non-profits around Australia.

Food Bank is also an Australian food relief charity that sources and rescues fresh food and groceries and again the distributed food is used in vital food relief programs such as community pantries and dining halls, mobile soup vans, emergency hampers and breakfast or lunch programs in schools

With Stawell Food Connect the food is collected by our volunteers and taken to Stawell Neighbourhood House three times per week. After sorting, the food is available to be collected by individuals in need, organisations, schools and community groups who run food programs or who have contact with low income families. Collection is available between 11am and 3pm on those days and it is the responsibility of the food recipient to sign a register and not to on-sell the food.

In the beginning, food sorting and storing space at the House was at a premium with the dining tables and kitchen bench being utilized. But it wasn't long before the Men's Shed came to the rescue and built customized stained timber trolleys with produce dividers. And they are currently building some portable shelves to secure and display the food.

Nothing goes to waste at Stawell Neighbourhood House - food not collected is stored or frozen for later use in the many activities on offer at the house. Fruit is stewed or turned into pickles and relishes, vegetables frozen, cakes baked and frozen and casseroles cooked. Last year funding was obtained to buy a new refrigerator and freezer to help with storage.

Stawell Neighbourhood House regularly hosts barbeques for community gatherings (often cooked by Stawell Men's Shed members), runs budgeting and cooking lessons, hospitality courses and school holiday programs - all of which make good use of the food from Stawell Food Connect. As do the free drop-in lunches and breakfasts. And, of course the now famous community lunches held several times a year and regularly attended by 80+ locals are also made possible by the program.

Christmas places additional strain on the program as demand from individuals increases and extra hampers are required for families. This year for the first time Stawell Neighbourhood House is partnering with Pinnacle in assembling and distributing the hampers to those in need. This year a call was also put out for donations of non-perishable food to top up the supply from Second Bite and Food Bank. Donations can be dropped off at Stawell Neighbourhood House, 42 Sloane St.

The Stawell Neighbourhood House Christmas Community Lunch will be held on December 12 at 12.30 pm. Everybody welcome. Gold coin donation if you can.