Feed Geelong Stories & Impact

Community Choice

The Give Where You Live Foundation has been delivering an emergency relief voucher program since the early 1990s to give people in the Geelong community experiencing crisis access to basic necessities such as food, material aid, and support for prescriptions.

In 2021, thanks to support from the State Government, the Foundation was able to further strengthen and expand this support, to what is now the Community Choice program.

With the support from the Percy Baxter Charitable Trust, the Foundation distributes around $130,000 annually through the Community Choice program, supporting over 7,500 people annually.

Community Choice gives people in our community access to essentials like food from the Geelong Food Relief Centre, prescription medications form local partner pharmacies, furniture from Encompass Homestart, and work clothing from Encompass Ready Start.

Community Choice has evolved the voucher program to create greater choice, diversity and access to emergency assistance. Ultimately handing that choice and control back to the members of our community who are seeking help.

Through the Community Choice, the Foundation is:

• Providing a simple and effective emergency relief voucher that supports community members in times of crisis.
• Creating greater choice, and dignity, for community members seeking help.
• Increasing diversity and access to food relief, expanding not only the type of food available but also availability (days, times, delivery).
• Creating a model of emergency assistance that is widely distributed and provides people with greater options across our region
• Creating a voucher system that is flexible and scalable to meet community needs during times of crisis.