Foodbank says a $1 million federal government investment in emergency grocery supplies made in advance could generate up to $5 million worth of food in preparation for the summer bushfire season.
The organisation has called on the federal government to provide it with $2.5 million in extra funding for food and logistics support.
Higher than usual demand this year, driven by the sharp economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, has stretched Foodbank's resources.
In answers provided to the Senate bushfire inquiry this week, Foodbank general manager Sarah Pennell said a $1 million investment in food and groceries could generate $5 million worth of food through the organisation's industry connections.
"It is critical to have enough appropriate stock on hand prior to any disaster as there is no guarantee that enough of the required items will be in the warehouses in the normal course of business and it takes up to three months to order in specific stock," Ms Pennell said.
Foodbank chief executive Brianna Casey told the hearing federal funding from February had been used to replenish stocks and transition to recovery efforts.
"That funding, as well as donations from our corporate partners, has been fully expended on food and groceries, in many cases sourced from regional areas suffering from the successive natural disasters, thereby helping to stimulate the hard-hit communities," Ms Casey said.
Ms Casey told the Sunday Canberra Times the organisation had been placed under the greatest amount of pressure in its history during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We have conducted more food procurement in the last three or four months than we have in the last three or four years to give you an indication of the scale of food purchasing we're doing at the moment to meet the increase demand," Ms Casey said.
Ms Casey said the organisation, which was supporting newly unemployed people as well as other groups who could not access government supports during the pandemic, had shifted its focus to preparedness for summer.
"If we were to see a catastrophic natural disaster coming into summer on top of COVID, it is going to put further strain," she said.
Ms Casey said Foodbank sought to act as a funnel for community generosity in periods of crisis to avoid simple mistakes and to address community needs.
