HUNGER pains are being felt across Lake Macquarie as the cost of living continues to rise.
For families struggling to put food on the table, OzHarvest provides welcome relief.
The organisation is going to be able to reach even more people in need, thanks to a Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation grant allowing it to expand its food rescue program in the south of the lake and northern Central Coast.
Locally, the agencies OzHarvest serves have experienced a 46 per cent increase in demand, OzHarvest Newcastle manager Richard Stark said.
"Essentially our purpose is to feed hungry people and there's two parts to that," he said.
"There's the environmental part, stopping good food going into landfill, and feeding hungry people."
With the funding boost, OzHarvest will put on a new run for three days a week, bringing food to schools, church organisations and refuges that are begging for help.
Over the next 12 months Mr Stark expects it will divert 50 tonnes of produce away from landfill and into the bellies of hungry people through 20 new charities.
"It's a massive cost saver for individuals who get access, we give out dairy products, bread, meat when we get it - it really is amazing what we can rescue," he said.
"About 67 per cent of people throughout COVID who have reached out for support have experienced hunger in the last 18 months, so one in six people in Australia have experienced hunger in the last 18 months," he said.
"About 1.2 million of those are children, so there's a lot of hungry people out there at the moment.
"I can only see that increasing with the rising cost of living and the farmers in flood-affected areas like QLD devastated by rain - those costs are unfortunately passed on to the consumer."
OzHarvest sources its food from major retailers like Aldi, Costco, Woolworths and Harris Farm Markets in Newcastle.
Food that has reached its shelf-life, or has been taken to the checkout and left behind that can't be resold - but is still perfectly good to eat, is donated to OzHarvest.
All the food OzHarvest receives is transported in refridgerated trucks and often handed out by charities the same day.
Mr Stark said he feels honoured to be able to help others.
"We have such an amazing team here in Newcastle and we set the standard Australia-wide for the food rescue kilos we get," he said.
He said there are already a number of charities in the Lake Macquarie and Central Coast areas that are on a waitlist to receive the food rescue service.
