A small organisation building community
Food is Free Inc in Ballarat, Victoria, on Wadawurrung Country
Food is Free is a community-led food security and social connection project which operates over 5 sites. It focuses on building community resilience and environmental awareness by providing education about living sustainably, growing and sharing fresh nutritious food.
The Food is Free Green Space allows at-risk community members to access fresh food 24/7. Its Green Space has 50 garden beds providing free nutritious food as well as free and low cost workshops on food security and a space for people to connect with each other. It sees around 100 daily visitors and has been operating for a decade. The First Nations Women’s Yarning Garden is a self-determined project for mob to connect and learn in a safe space.
Volunteer led, without DGR status
Food Is Free is currently run with just one part time staff member who has other jobs, and around 70 volunteers. Despite the incredible service and support Food Is Free provides to the Ballarat community, including those most in need, it has been rejected for DGR status multiple times.
It has been rejected because its activities cross multiple DGR categories – the provision of food, food security education, social inclusion activities – and because its gardens are open to the whole community.
Unfortunately, Food Is Free offers an example of how out of touch the current DGR system is with contemporary charitable work.
It is time for the Government to unlock DGR
As Lou Ridsdale, founder of Food is Free says:
“We open our gardens to everyone but we know disadvantaged members of the community benefit. We have been told that to get DGR we should restrict access to our free food to only disadvantaged members of the community. This is a terribly old fashioned way of understanding how to best help the community and absolutely the wrong way to build social inclusion. We believe people should be allowed to preserve their dignity while accessing fresh nutritious food.
I am tired and frustrated trying to navigate the ridiculously complicated DGR system that sucks time and energy from the good work of charities like Food is Free.
DGR status would help us have more financial stability and ensure our commitment to the Ballarat community could continue to grow.”
At a time when cost of living is putting people under more and more pressure and we know social isolation is a growing problem, projects like Food is Free are vital. Yet, the DGR system does not value these charities. Instead to fit the DGR system charities need to make themselves smaller and do less for the community. It is time for the Government to Unlock DGR so charities like Food is Free can access more philanthropic and government grants, and continue their incredible work.
Other case studies
Span Community House
Span Community House’s inclusive and universal approach means it is unable to access DGR status. A common DGR pathway for charities like Span Community House is endorsement under the Public Benevolent Institution category, which requires a charity to direct its work towards a particular section of the community.
We want to hear your story
Has your charity applied for DGR status and been rejected? Are you missing out on the benefits of DGR status?
We want to hear from you.
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Who’s behind Unlock DGR?
In the face of huge unmet legal need, Justice Connect’s vision is a world in which legal support is within everyone’s reach. We have been serving the community for more than 25 years. We are a registered charity and accredited community legal centre.
Not-for-profit Law is Justice Connect’s specialist program for community organisations and is a sector-led response that not-for-profits and their peak bodies trust. It’s the only service of its kind in Australia. Since its establishment in 2008, Not-for-profit Law has helped prevent and resolve legal, regulatory and governance issues for hundreds of thousands of community organisations across Australia.
Our partners:
The Unlock DGR campaign is supported by Minderoo Foundation, a modern philanthropy working to forge a fair future. Minderoo tackles tough, persistent challenges through evidence, partnership and practical solutions that create lasting change. Learn more at minderoo.org.
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