By Christine de Kock
CHARITABLE food organisation One Umbrella is looking for a home in the West where it can expand its kitchen.
The group rescues good food that would usually end up as landfill and either gives it to organisations in the welfare sector or cooks it and then passes it on to charities.
One Umbrella has its administration officers in Yarraville and its kitchen in Southbank.
It received $70,000 from the State Government last year to develop an advanced kitchen.
But it has been unable to find an appropriate site and now time is running out.
Martin J Cowling, CEO of One Umbrella, said the organisation wanted to find new premises within the next two months where it would be able to establish an advanced kitchen.
“We want to find a new kitchen within the next two months for two reasons, we are running out of storage space and fridge space,” he said.
“We also aim to make a million meals this year and need the capacity to make that happen.”
Mr Cowling said One Umbrella was looking for a facility near a railway station to make it easier for its 850 volunteers to access.
He was specifically interested in sites in the City of Maribyrnong, Hobsons Bay and Moonee Valley.
Mr Cowling said 30,000 nutritious meals a month were made by the organisation’s band of volunteers.
“Victorians throw away 150,000 tonnes of food per a year,” he said.
“Our aim was to try and reduce that.”
The group also rescued items such as packaged fruit juices and distributed yogurts that were close to their use- by date that would be consumed the day of distribution.
People eating the meals usually have a lack of fibre and protein in their diet.
One Umbrella provides food to 63 agencies based in the West and the East.
Suburbs as distant as Broadmeadows and and Werribee benefit from the food distribution.
One Umbrella delivers to agencies located in Footscray and Yarraville but all other agencies undertake their own pick- ups.
Mr Cowling said a third of prepared meals were provided to charities in the West and two thirds provided to charities in the East.
Agencies then supply the food One Umbrella provides free of charge.
“We see it as a win-win for everybody, it’s a win-win for the environment, win for agencies that need our food, we are a win for people who are disadvantaged and we are a win for volunteers in the community who want to assist,” Mr Cowling said.
Those who can suggest an appropriate facility for One Umbrella, please contact Martin Cowling on 0403 820 449.
