SYDNEY, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) — Australia’s Sydney said on Thursday it has awarded 1.5 million Australian dollars (1 million U.S. dollars) in grants to 12 organizations to help get food and essential items to struggling inner city residents over the next year.
“Local food relief organizations report that demand for food relief is now higher than during the pandemic, with people forgoing food to pay for housing and health services,” Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore was quoted as saying in a media release.
“These grants are part of a new funding program for groups distributing food to households as the cost of living soars,” Moore said. “We’re supporting a broad range of organizations critical to creating a strong, responsive and collaborative food relief network in the local area.”
Food support grants are available for projects and programs that improve access to affordable and healthy food for the City of Sydney’s diverse communities, according to the media release.
These grants build on the support provided to food relief organizations during the pandemic, it said.
Sydney invested 3.1 million Australian dollars (2.1 million dollars) in food relief between 2020 and 2022 and worked with more than 60 businesses and community organizations to make sure communities could access essential items, the city said.
