SES volunteers have been filling food orders for vulnerable residents following a decision from the ACT government to shut down their relief network.
Budget restraints led to the Canberra Relief Network ceasing its provision of food donations to support services just weeks prior to the ACT lockdown, despite the threat of coronavirus spreading from NSW.
Set up at the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the makeshift warehouse at EPIC distributed 4500 hampers to more than 2000 Canberrans in its first three months of operation.
Initially funded for six months, the volunteer-assisted food donation service was extended well into this year due to ongoing high demand.
Towards the end of July, with several Australian cities in lockdown and Canberra on high alert over potential spread of the highly-infectious delta variant of COVID-19, the warehouse shut its doors.
When the first 2021 case of COVID-19 was detected in the ACT on August 12, emergency service volunteers were sent to Woolworths in order to provide groceries to residents in need.
More than 170 volunteers were tasked with deliveries to 900 households, many of which were in isolation or quarantine.
ACT Minister for Emergency Relief Emma Davidson said government agencies had known the pandemic wasn't over when the program ended in July.
She said as the lockdown was initially for a period of two weeks, a short-term model was established with Woolworths and the SES to provide groceries to those in need.
"It was evident once lockdown was extended that ongoing food relief was needed to support the community," Ms Davidson said.
"On 20 August, an additional $200,000 was announced to support ongoing access to emergency food relief for those in need - taking the total to $450,000."
To meet the surge in demand, the EPIC site started dispatching boxes again almost three weeks after the first case was detected.
ACTCOSS chief executive officer Emma Campbell said her organisation expressed concern about the lack of information provided to the sector when the Canberra Relief Network was shut down.
Dr Campbell said they were working with the ACT government to ensure the reintroduced service met the requirements of vulnerable Canberrans.
"The financial cost to our organisations providing emergency support is heavy and many of them are already struggling to fund services as demand increases," Dr Campbell said.
"Alongside emergency food and financial relief we are also seeing a significant increase in demand for homelessness services and emergency accommodation."
