Pay it Forward with Grocer Gift
Muhummod was new to Australia when he received a Grocer Gift card from the Pakenham Community Hub. “[The voucher] helped me provide food for myself, wife and kids. I have been coming ever since,” he said.
“It has helped me eat healthier because the fruits and vegetables are cheap. We now have vegetables every night for dinner,” he added.
Muhummod’s story shows the difference that access to affordable fruit and veg can make for people and families in our community.
This National Nutrition Week and Anti-Poverty Week, we invite you to help put fresh, familiar food on more people’s tables. By making a donation to our Grocer Gift program, you’re directly supporting families to buy the fruit and veg they want, to cook the meals they love.
What Grocer Gift brings to the table
Grocer Gifts cards are vouchers that enable people to buy fresh produce from The Community Grocer at little to no cost to them.
The first of their kind in Australia, these vouchers offer a choice-based alternative to conventional food relief. That means people can come to the market to browse and buy the fresh, high-quality and culturally diverse fruit and veg that’s right for them.
People tell us that choice matters. Last year, 76% of recipients said they preferred Grocer Gift cards to other types of emergency food relief. They liked being able to chat to our friendly teams, connect with neighbours, and decide what fresh produce they'd use to feed themselves and their families.
They’ve also told us that Grocer Gift helps reduce financial stress. It frees up funds for things like housing, healthcare, bills, and transport: Necessities that are sometimes paid for first, at the expense of buying groceries.
One recipient told us, “It makes you feel like someone actually cares about you, like you're not forgotten.”
Grocer Gift cards are distributed through trusted partners like local health services, schools, and community based organisations. This means people can get fresh food support in places where they already live, learn, work and access services.
“[Having a Grocer Gift card] means I can use whatever income we’ve got to pay all the bills. This helps us to have better meals which helps our bodies physically and mentally.”
Fair food for everyone
Fresh, healthy food is abundant. But last year, one in three Victorians worried about having enough food, or went without; issues like financial stress, limited transport, cultural inaccessibility, and a lack of local options can make food hard to access. And with the cost of living on the rise, many more of us are feeling the pinch.
Emergency food relief is a common solution, but only 25% of food insecure households used it in 2025. This may be due to stigma, ineligibility, or poor quality, or other barriers.
National Nutrition Week 2026 and Anti-Poverty Week encourage us to take action against poverty and food insecurity–two systemic challenges that go hand-in-hand.
If you’re able, we invite you to pay it forward: 100% of all donations will fund Grocer Gift Cards that help people bring fresh food home.
Make a tax deductible donation of any amount today.