Victorians struggling to put food on the table will get an extra helping hand from the state’s largest charity kitchen, thanks to a major funding boost from the Andrews Labor Government.

Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Luke Donnellan today announced $2.5 million to help deliver more free, nutritious meals through FareShare – delivering on a key election commitment.

This investment allows FareShare volunteers to increase the number of meals produced in their Victorian kitchens from 30,000 a week to 40,000 by 2022 – feeding thousands more people in need each year.

The investment will also allow the organisation to expand its operations to maximise additional space for cooking purposes and rostering on more volunteers from a waiting list of over 1,000 people.

FareShare collects surplus, quality food from supermarkets, wholesalers, farmers and other businesses which cannot be sold, and cooks it into nutritious meals. Last year, FareShare rescued more than one million kilograms of food which would otherwise have gone to landfill and grew nearly 70,000 kilograms of its own vegetables.

FareShare largely relies on philanthropic foundations, businesses and individual donors to rescue food and cook the meals, which are then distributed to charities who deliver it to the people in need.

The Labor Government is also addressing the issue of food insecurity and standing with the Victorians who need help the most with $10 million invested in Foodbank to establish regional distribution hubs in Ballarat and Morwell.

The Government has expanded the School Breakfast Clubs program with $58 million funding to deliver free and healthy food for students in 1,000 public schools over four years from 2019-2023.