ASRC launches urgent food security appeal as fuel crisis drives rising costs and falling food donations

MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday, 8 April 2026

The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has today launched an urgent food security appeal as rising costs, fewer food donations, and increasing demand from people who have never used our services before place growing pressure on its Foodbank services, amid a fuel-driven cost surge impacting food supply and transport across Australia.
Each month, thousands of people seeking asylum rely on the ASRC’s Foodbanks in Footscray and Dandenong. Many are living on temporary visas for years, with no access to income support, no work rights, and no safety net.
The organisation is already seeing early signs of strain, including empty shelves as people are finding it hard to drop off donations due to the cost of fuel and more families arriving without enough food at home, as global pressures begin to flow through to local communities.
The pressure is being driven by global instability and fuel supply disruptions, pushing up the cost of food, transport and essential goods. Staple items such as rice, flour, oil and meat have already risen sharply, with increases on bulk purchases of up to 25%.
Other food relief organisations across Victoria are reporting the same pressures, with demand rising and supply becoming harder to sustain.
At the same time, food donations are declining as households face rising living costs, while suppliers are passing on higher transport costs or requiring collection instead of delivery.
This is placing sustained pressure on the ASRC’s operations, increasing the cost of sourcing and delivering food which reduces supply at the very moment that demand is growing.
In response, the ASRC is increasing bulk orders of essential items, expanding storage capacity for non-perishable and frozen goods, and adjusting logistics to maintain consistent access to food in the months ahead.
As an independent charity, the ASRC does not receive federal government funding for its core services and relies on community support to keep its Foodbanks operating.
The urgent appeal aims to ensure shelves remain stocked and families are able to access the food they need in the weeks ahead.

Quotes attributable to Kon Karapanagiotidis, CEO, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre:

“I never thought we’d be launching another urgent appeal so soon after COVID, but here we are.”
“What we’re already seeing is deeply concerning. Empty Foodbank shelves. Families with nothing in their fridge or cupboard, turning to us simply to survive.
“The fuel crisis is driving up the cost of everything – from rice and flour to oil and meat. It’s costing more to source food, more to transport it, and more to keep our services running.
“We’re facing rising costs, people struggling to get donations to us and increasing demand all at once.
“Without community support, we cannot guarantee a steady food supply for families who have no access to federal government support.
“The people we support have no savings, no income and no safety net. For many, we are the only place they can turn to for food.
“We have a plan to get through this, but we cannot do it alone.
“Together, we are the safety net. We’re asking our community to help us keep it strong.”

You can donate here: https://donate.asrc.org.au/urgent-food-security-appeal