As little as $40 will feed a family for a week.

The housing crisis and high cost of living means families in your community who were previously in a stable financial position are suddenly struggling to cope — even finding it difficult to afford basic groceries.

Vanita and her husband had just bought their first home after 15 years of renting and saving, when she was diagnosed with a very rare and disabling disease that meant she couldn’t work. Her incredibly expensive medical bills meant the family quickly fell behind on their mortgage repayments.

Buying groceries to feed their three children became almost impossible.

“It was the lowest point in my life,” Vanita says. “I'm talking no money, no food, depression, everything. I felt like I was going to die. And I was worried: how am I going to feed the kids?”

Then she heard about Whittlesea Community Connection’s Food Collective. There she met one of our brilliant case workers, Ginette, who quickly got to work sourcing enough groceries to feed the family of five, as well as helping Vanita to access financial and emotional counselling.

“To have some fresh veggies and some fresh meat, and also canned goods and pasta … I just kept crying. I was worried about being judged but Ginette was so supportive,” says Vanita.

“If we hadn’t found Whittlesea Community Connections, we would’ve lost our house, a hundred percent. They helped me access so many support services that I didn’t know existed.”

Sadly, these types of stories are becoming more and more common in our community. But with your help, we can always be here to support families when they need us most. Please give $40 – or more – to feed a family today.