Food Share chief executive officer Dedy Friebe said the organisation was in talks with the Uniting Church to buy its current warehouse in Warrnambool’s industrial estate, but would need at least $450,000 through business, philanthropic and community fund-raising to make it a reality.

It comes as new figures released by the organisation show unprecedented demand for its food hampers from across the region.

“I think the statistics show that Food Share needs to stay, it needs to continue providing the support it can. I think it shows we can readily supply excellent quality food and support the families in need, we just need to make that next step and that will be to try to raise funds to buy this building,” Mr Friebe said.

More than 100 organisations are now registered with Food Share, which has spread its wings across the south-west.

“Distributing food to people in need via hampers has grown from 2700 in 2014 to over 4500 in 2016. In terms of people receiving Food Share assistance, this equates to 6500 people in 2014 and a mammoth 11800 people in 2016,” Mr Friebe said.

“Changes in the social climate and community can be seen directly in our figures. In the last three years we’ve had things like rising unemployment and further disintegration of families and the ice scourge. 

“Our outreach has increased. We’re now permeating on a regular basis communities in Hamilton, in Portland, in Camperdown, in Simpson, Koroit, Port Fairy. We have really developed the contact with the community in the last three years and we now have more than 100 agencies that are registered with Food Share, which includes nearly all of the schools.”

The organisation has support from supermarkets and last year 137 tonnes of food came from the local community, while freight companies like Ryans and Allens truck down refrigerated and frozen goods free.

“We have wonderful support from businesses in the community that allow us to provide really good quality hampers,” Mr Friebe said.

In the past three years, Mr Friebe said Food Share had become an essential part of the region’s food support.

“It makes you realise that this type of operation should be all over the place. It shouldn’t be just in south-west Victoria,” he said.

“There are only three Food Shares in country Victoria… What we’re doing here with our hampers is unique and the support we get just shows the capacity of this community.”