Shepparton FoodShare’s volunteer network has been slashed by enforcement of the Victorian Government’s triple vaccine mandate, as well as volunteers stepping away for health or personal reasons.
FoodShare operations co-ordinator Grace Grieve said there were 33 volunteers working a various number of hours at the start of the pandemic. As of Monday, March 21, there were 10.
Ms Grieve said it might cause FoodShare to shut its doors an extra day a week and she appealed for more volunteers to help keep the doors open.
Some volunteers dropped off at the start of the pandemic for safety reasons, while more followed when double dose vaccine mandates were first enforced last year.
Ms Grieve said when the booster mandate came into effect for a limited number of industries — including food preparation and production, which FoodShare falls under — more people were forced to step away.
She said it was about a 50-50 split between those who stepped away due to the mandate and those who stepped away for personal reasons.
“Some people have chosen not to get their booster and we’ve lost other volunteers who’ve stepped away due to age and health,” Ms Grieve said.
“It is frustrating but our hands are tied — it’s no use complaining about what is, we just do what we can.”
Ms Grieve said many people were still using the service, including people who had never required assistance before.
She also said it would have an impact on remaining staff.
“Because of that we’re now very mindful we don’t want to burn out the staff we do have left,” she said.
“It’ll get to the point where if we don’t get enough volunteers we’ll have to drop a day.”
Currently FoodShare is open Monday to Thursday, with food on offer three days a week, and Ms Grieve urged anyone who was able to come forward to help, even if it was short-term or for a few hours a week.
Head to the warehouse on 45 Toolamba Rd, Shepparton, or call 0432 517 329 for more information or to reach out.