The 2022 bird calendar produced by Warrnambool's Perry Cho was so popular it sold out in three weeks and eclipsed his fund-raising goal by thousands.

The calendar, from Patient Eye Photography in partnership with Breakwater Insurance, raised $65,288.88 from sales and brings the total fundraising efforts from the project over the past three years to $128,476.88. "We just wanted to beat last year's figure of $42,188," Cho said. "That was really the goal."

Cho has already begun working on next year's calendar and has set a higher target of $80,000 - which is also expected to go to Warrnambool and District Food Share.

Executive officer Amanda Hennessy said the donation couldn't have come at a better time. "It's perfect timing because we're in a situation where things are about to get a lot worse. We would love to do ourselves out of a job, but that's not going to happen," she said.

Ms Hennessy said Food Share was gearing up for tough times ahead. "The need hasn't decreased throughout the COVID experience. I think everyone is still thinking the need will back off, but it hasn't," she said.

"But now with the current situation with petrol prices and inflation, we are projecting the need will increase."

Food Share, she said, had made all the difference for new mums who were struggling financially, people who had to move out of their rental properties into a motel, and even people in isolation with COVID-19.

With the cost of petrol rising, and the cost of food going up, Ms Hennessy said people were also now starting to even re-think travel plans. She said the donation from Cho was "just extraordinary" and she was so grateful to the community for rallying behind his fund-raising campaign.

The money would be partly used to upgrade the warehouse to help reduce the running costs in the long term, as well as buying staple food products.

Cho said the 2023 calendar of south-west landscapes would include images from Patient Eye photographers Aaron Toulmin and Engin Torun.

"We are compiling the best of all the shots we have taken as a group," Cho said.

"We thought we'd amalgamate and bring the people of Western Victoria the best of our shots. All of us feel it's such a good project that we're coming back together for this one time only."

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