Need a Feed gears up to curb growing hunger

Twelve years since personal experience with food insecurity led Shaz Harrison to start Need a Feed, she is calling for community support to help take their work to the streets.

Shaz created a GoFundMe page to secure a food truck, which would allow the charity to help more people in need in the face of the cost-of-living crisis and mounting food insecurity.

“By incorporating a food truck into the organisation we can extend our outreach to more people in need within our community,” Shaz says.

“We know some places where there is a high concentration of need, and we know not all those people have the means of coming to us – we must go to where they are.”

Need a Feed’s current recurring programs are its Community Connection Lunch on Thursdays at the community space in the Northern Illawarra Uniting Church, Bulli and Breakfast Buddies, held every Monday at Wollongong’s Globe Lane.

When the charity reaches its $100,000 fundraising goal, locations in Bellambi and Myuna Way in Wollongong will likely be the first cabs off the rank in what Shaz hopes will be an expanding list of locations the food truck will visit, to spread its special brand of care.

“Food is up there in the hierarchy of human needs, but we do more than nourish people’s bodies – we feed their mind, body and soul,” Shaz says.

“We are a family and the support network for people who don’t have one. We work to build relationships, understand where people are at in their lives and try to meet them where they are. We strive to be the consistent positive energy in their lives.

“For some of the people who visit us, we’re their only social interaction for the week. One of our Breakfast Buddies, John, tells me it’s the absolute highlight of his week.

“Last year Need a Feed fed nearly 5000 people. But one statistic you can’t measure is the ripple effect of happiness we are creating.”

While there are many regulars, Need a Feed’s dedicated volunteers are greeting a growing number of new faces. Shaz says it’s an indication of rising food insecurity in the region and testament to the fact that anyone can find themselves in a struggle.

She’s speaking from personal experience. A survivor of domestic violence, Shaz says she could “easily have ended up sleeping in the car with three young daughters and dog” had it not been for her support network.

“I learned firsthand when I was going through different challenges in my life that if it wasn’t for my family and good friend, my life could’ve been very different,” she says.

“Misfortune doesn’t discriminate. All you need is for one or two things to go wrong, and it could happen to anyone.”

Need a Feed is currently community supported through private donations, grants and generous sponsorship from businesses.

“Omar from Woonona Fruit Basket and Dave from Hawthornes Meats in Woonona are both so generous,” Shaz said.

“We’d love to get another butcher and produce supplier on board to help us grow in our cause.”

From apricot chicken to stroganoff, baked hams and roasts, Need a Feed meals are top quality and filled with the “special ingredient”.

“People say it’s the best lunch in the Illawarra,” Shaz says. “It’s made with love, and you can taste it.”

Help Need a Feed take to the streets on GoFundMe.