What began as a simple ‘Free food table’ initiative in early 2019 has grown into a weekly program that the community can regularly access for support.
RCH co-ordinator Amanda Logie said the need for the program surged after the 2022 floods and has remained in demand since.
“We're still averaging probably about 50 people a week,” she said.
“Assuming that not everyone is a single person, there's probably between 50 and 100 people per week that we're still supporting in the community.”
In 2025, through the Victorian Government-funded Community Food Relief Program, the RCH and the Girgarre Community Cottage were awarded $61,425 to expand its FoodShare programs.
The funding has enabled RCH to provide staffing and volunteer training and purchase additional food, shelving and storage.
While the bulk of donations is received from Bendigo FoodShare, contributions are also collected regularly from Cottam’s Family Butchers and the Rochester and Elmore bakeries.
Mrs Logie said the program had largely been successful due to its volunteers.
“It's very much a volunteer-led program,” she said.
“Whilst we do all of the ordering and the formal stuff in the background... we have volunteers that drive down to Bendigo to collect food... and collect stuff from the bakeries once a week.
“When we had the flood event in 2022... it was seven days a week in the church hall and our amazing volunteers really stepped up.”
This year the program is running every week on Tuesdays from 11am to 12pm at the Rochester Shire Hall.
No registrations are necessary and community members are free to drop into the FoodShare as needed.
Community members can also access pre-packed bags of pantry items on Thursdays at the community house for those unable to attend on Tuesdays.
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