Boronia Fire Brigade staff, volunteers and auxiliary members will drive in a convoy to Beechworth Fire Station in the state’s north to help people affected by the dairy crisis.
Organised by the Boronia auxiliary, the push is to distribute food hampers to farmers in the lead up to Christmas.
CFA Operations Officer Greg Christison said many rural communities were doing it tough with the dairy crisis this year.
“This initiative has grown substantially from 40 or 50 hampers to more than 200 in just a few days,” he said.
“This just highlights the best aspects of CFA, with people from opposite ends of the state providing support and assistance to each other in a time of need.
“We all understand that times can be tough but the wider CFA community is here to provide support and assistance to each other in a time of need.
“We’re hoping this would make Christmas a little easier for some farming families, and that’s the least we could do.”
More than 1.7 tonnes of goods have been collected and are ready for distribution including more than 200 food hampers, chocolate, biscuits, rice, fruit, vegetables and many daily essentials.
Auxiliary Vice President Helen Sefton said our initial aim was to distribute 50 hampers and we’ve been overwhelmed with the response.
“Instead of contributing 50 Hampers to CFA dairy farmers and their local communities we are now in a position to be the primary hamper support to dairy farmers in NE Victoria,” she said.
“As well as many amazing contributors this initiative wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of the Northern Victoria Farmer Relief Drive who have been incredibly generous with their time and resources.”
The convoy, made up of six vehicles, will be travelling a 564km round trip to Beechworth to deliver the hampers this Sunday 18 December.
“After the hamper handover CFA volunteers will share lunch together to gain a better appreciation and understanding of the circumstances of local farmers,” she said.
“It won’t be long before these farmers will volunteer to fight fires and support their communities despite their own circumstance and we’re so glad to be able to give back to them.”
This initiative wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of:
CFA District 13, The CFA State Logistics Centre, Boronia CFA volunteers, Cooinda and Alice Johnson Pre-schools, Knox Central and Boronia West Primary Schools, Maroondah Emergency Department, Bakers Delight Boronia Junction, JC quality foods, Not Quite Right Boronia, Beechworth Bakery, Bayswater Bunnings, Moira Shire Food Share, Melbourne Foodbank courtesy of Northern Victoria Relief Drive, Bic, Canningvale, Crayola, the AFL, Barooga Strathmerton and Katamitite Lions Clubs and Tallangata Freemasons.
Author: CFA Media