FoodCare Orange currently receives a Foodbank delivery of one or two pallets of food per week which equates to around three quatres of the food offered for sale at FoodCare’s Glenroi headquarters.

Vegetables and bread are available for free.

FoodCare president  Anne Hopwood described the budget cuts as “short sighted”.

“I don’t think it’s good news, people are struggling, we know that,” she said.

Ms Hopwood said she fears the reduction of almost 50 percent of Foodbank’s budget may result in both the amount of food on offer, but also the variety offered.

According to Ms Hopwood Foodbank receives food donations from producers, farmers and supermarkets and sells those items at a “very good price” to charities such as FoodCare.

MAP: Where is FoodCare located in Orange …

FoodCare is then able to offer the items to its customers for around 50 percent of the retail cost with any money made used to fund operational costs.

FoodCare currently services around 80 to 100 people but expects demand to increase once it relocates to a new site that’s yet to be confirmed.

“There are some issues around people being able to access the service; the current location is difficult to get to,” Ms Hopwood said.

Ms Hopwood said FoodCare helps “a real cross section of the community”.

“There’s elderly people, singles, families and some of them have just suddenly fallen on hard time,” she said. “Sometimes it only takes one bill to come out of the cycle to throw the budget out.”

Ms Hopwood said she expects the FoodCare committee to write to Member for Calare Andrew Gee and Member for Orange Phil Donato to express its concern over Foodbank’s cuts.

Foodbank’s government funding had dropped from $1.5 million a year three years ago, to $427,000 a year from January 2019.