BENDIGO Foodshare is looking for funds to tackle high rates of food insecurity among young people.
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That could include a focus on people in Flora Hill and Spring Gully.
One quarter of people aged 15-24 years in the area live below the poverty line, according to a Victorian Council of Social Services study released late last year.
Bendigo Foodshare supplies a number of groups in the area with charitable goods and has been given first-hand accounts of challenges for residents who attend the university, TAFE and schools nearby, chair Cathie Steele said.
"What we would like to do is employ one or two young people to help us work with the community," she said.
"We are thinking of running a series of 'hackathons' where we get service providers and young people together, map out what exists and where the shortcomings are.
"Then we'd like to send some young people off to meet some amazing, inspiring people around Australia and investigate what is happening in other places."
Bendigo Foodshare would then hold more forums and help implement any proposals, Ms Steele said.
"This is something we would like to do in the next 12 months, if we can do it," she said.
Fellow emergency relief service Uniting Vic.Tas on Wednesday fronted a Senate committee hearing into the adequacy of Newstart and related payments like Youth Allowance.
It reported every one of the 1707 people who approached its' Bendigo and Kangaroo Flat services were on government benefits and overwhelmingly needed food relief.
The group is campaigning for a "bare minimum" $75 increase in Newstart, Youth Allowance and related payments, with CEO Bronwyn Pike saying the payments have not kept pace with escalating costs of living.
"The federal government does provide some funding for emergency relief services like the ones we run in Bendigo. But it's not enough to meet demand," she said.
"We also rely on the generous support of donors and organisations like SecondBite and Foodbank."
The federal government has funded $200 million to assist community organisations to 30 June, 2023, a spokesperson for families and social services minister Anne Ruston said.
When asked about raising Newstart, the spokesperson said the focus was on job creation.
Ms Pike said a $75 a week rise would boost the economy, citing recent economic modelling showing it could create an estimated 12,000 jobs.
"I think a compelling case has been made by a range of organisations and individuals that deserve to be heard.
"It's not just groups like Uniting and the Australian Council of Social Services that are calling for this. Deloitte Access Economics, KPMG and the Business Council of Australia are all supporting the idea."
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
