Anne turns to Compassion North for food relief

Anne’s family has had a very difficult few years. She lives with her husband, her younger daughter and her 14-year-old grandson north of Melbourne.

The cost-of-living crisis has had a devastating effect on the family’s finances. “It’s an extra $780 a month just for our mortgage,” Anne says. “Our rate’s locked in now for three years, the bank said we either agreed to that or we had to pay an extra $400 on top.

“Everything’s gone up. Electricity, school stuff, petrol.”

Anne and her husband are on the pension, while her daughter has a part-time job and has been looking nonstop for more work. “She hasn’t had any luck lately, but she keeps going day-by-day and hopes that she finds something,” says Anne. “I think maybe I can look out there and find a day’s work or something, but nobody will hire me, I’m too old.”

The family has been dealing with the stress of their financial situation while still grieving for the loss of Anne’s other grandson, who passed away from cancer a couple of years ago. “There’s a lot of cancer in my family,” she says. “My husband had cancer. My brother’s been fighting cancer for nine years. There’s been lots going on.”

A foodbank that serves the community

Compassion North’s foodbanks serve residents experiencing food insecurity in Hume, Mitchell Shire and Whittlesea, by providing free access to fresh produce, nutritious food, and essential materials.

“Beyond this, we cultivate social networks through face-to-face interactions during pickups, reducing isolation and strengthening relationships within the community,” explains Lauren Baker from Compassion North. “This is crucial for vulnerable groups, including families facing housing stress and victims of domestic violence.”

Anne heard about the service through another client, although she didn’t like taking their help. “There are so many people in need,” she explains. “But then when our mortgage went up, that’s nearly our whole two pensions gone. Then we have the normal bills and the insurance and stuff like that and we end up with nothing left.

“The people from Compassion North have been amazing. They have helped every single week. I feel intense relief. They are beautiful people.”

Reliable food relief and support

“You get a kilo or two of chicken and you get some veggies and some fruit, some rice, some pasta, a tin of tuna,” says Anne. “It gets you two or three meals a week.

“I said I’ll only come once a fortnight or once a month or something, because I don’t want to take food out of somebody else’s mouth – and they said ‘no you won’t! If you can’t afford to eat, you come here. It’s a gift from God’.” Anne recalls. “They’re just lovely people. I couldn’t rate them any higher.”

Anne also says the people at Compassion North are very friendly, and offer her a cup of tea and a chat whenever she goes in. “I go there for half an hour and just sit down and explain everything I’ve been brooding on,” she says. “I have somewhere to go if I just need to talk to them. And I know that they’ll never ever turn me away.”

Anne’s hopes for the future are simple and showcase how focused on basic survival the family is. “I hope my daughter can find a full-time job, and we can just live day to day without stressing about where you’re going to get your next meal, or how am I going to pay that bill? It’s just being able to live,” she says.

About the Community Grants Program

Every year the Sisters of Charity Foundation provides grants to small not-for-profits across Australia, like Compassion North, that use clever ways to fight disadvantage, loneliness, suffering and oppression.

Learn more at Community Grants Program.