Casey Food Relief Capacity Building Initiative

About the initiative

This initiative provides a targeted, one off investment to strengthen the long term capacity and coordination of Casey’s food relief system. Rather than funding service delivery, it focuses on infrastructure, technology, and volunteer capability to address system wide challenges and improve equitable access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food for Casey residents.

The grant aims to:

• Increase capacity and resilience by enabling providers to safely store, transport, and distribute more food.
• Improve coordination and reduce duplication through shared logistics, data systems, and emergency planning.
• Enhance equity and access to food aid for Casey’s multicultural communities by reducing language, cultural and practical barriers that prevent people from accessing food relief services.
• Strengthen the volunteer workforce to sustain service delivery.

Overall, the initiative targets structural improvements that deliver lasting impact, efficiency, and better community outcomes.

Who can apply

To apply for this grant, your group must: 

• be a registered not-for-profit organisation
• currently operating a service or emergency food program in Casey 
• have public liability insurance of a minimum $20 million.

Who can’t apply

• Individuals and unincorporated groups (including those with an auspice)
• Government agencies at local, state or federal level
• Businesses
• Political parties or groups
• Groups that have already put in an application for this grant (Only one application allowed per organisation)

What can be funded

This grant supports organisations to:

• Purchase essential equipment to maintain or expand the volume of food aid available for Casey residents or new distribution points, particularly to Casey’s growth areas and areas of high disadvantage,
• Invest in technology and infrastructure to better coordinate logistics across providers and support local communications and data sharing,
• Enhance access to nutritious, affordable and culturally appropriate food by reducing language, cultural, and access barriers, 
• Strengthen volunteer coordination including recruitment, retention, wellbeing and continuity.

 Example project types

• New equipment that enables organisations to store and distribute food safely and in larger volumes, reducing waste and meeting growing demand.
• Shared delivery scheduling or transport pooling systems between multiple providers.
• Technology systems to better capture local food relief data, manage volunteer pools and track demand.
• Development of localised emergency food response plans with clear roles/responsibilities and back up supply arrangements.
• Equipment or systems that support separation and safe handling of culturally specific foods (e.g. halal, vegetarian, cultural staples).
• Co-designed culturally appropriate food aid initiatives with CALD and First Nations communities.
• Development of multilingual referral pathways or booking systems to make it easier for people to find and access food aid.
• Creating private spaces or equipment that supports volunteer wellbeing during shifts, peer support models (non-clinical) or improving accessibility for volunteers (e.g. better manual handling equipment, safer loading systems, simplified processes).
• Creating shared volunteer pools with partner organisations to respond to absences or surge demand.

What cannot be funded

• New food relief or education programs (eg food growing, cooking, nutrition) – please consider applying for a City of Casey Community Grant.
• Research projects
• Retrospective costs
• Equipment, infrastructure or training already funded by another Council grant program
• Any new or altered permanent structures or assets considered to be fixed to a property (eg. kitchen renovations, plumbed appliances)
• Projects that cannot be completed before 30 June 2027

Costs that are not covered

The grant money cannot pay for:

• food purchases or vouchers
• day‑to‑day organisation running costs; utilities, rent or leasing, internet, consumables, staff wages, fuel, insurance utilities (electricity, gas and water, internet)
• consumables such as single use or disposable items
• restaurant bills, alcohol and petrol costs
• fundraising, prizes/trophies, gifts, honorariums, awards or donations,
• unreasonable or overinflated costs 
• vehicle purchase or lease, fuel, repairs or insurance costs
• storage space or warehouse purchase or lease, repairs, insurance or regular cleaning costs.

How we decide which applications to fund

A Panel of Casey residents and City of Casey staff will review applications. Casey residents are from the Council endorsed Community Selection Panel program and have been given training.

The panel will assess successful applications based on the following

1. Identified need

The application clearly explains:

• The food relief need in the community and which groups are being supported

• Where the project will take place in the City of Casey

• Gaps in current equipment, infrastructure or capacity

• Why this funding is needed

Strong applications will align with the Victorian healthy food relief guidelines 2024.

2. Benefit to Casey community

The application demonstrates how the funding will:

• Help to safely maintain or expand food relief services in Casey

• Benefit people experiencing food insecurity, including people who have not accessed food relief before 

• Provide longer term benefits for the organisation and the community, for example through durable equipment, stronger volunteering or improved partnerships

Applicants should also identify any community partners or other organisations involved.

3. Organisational capacity & readiness

The application shows that the organisation can deliver the project successfully, including:

• Relevant experience, skills and resources, including volunteers

• Clear roles and responsibilities

• An appropriate organisational structure and management processes

The application must include a detailed and accurate budget, evidence that costs are reasonable and achievable and consideration of potential risks and how they will be managed.

The Panel will prioritise collaborative efforts and activities that involve multiple organisations. 

The Panel will also consider how funding is distributed across the City of Casey and its diverse communities and partial funding may be allocated.

If your application is successful

We will notify you by email and the email will include:

• the conditions for your grant
• a fact sheet with important information about the grant payment and acquittal

Before we can pay you, you must:

• complete an online invoice form in SmartyGrants
• pay any outstanding debts you have to Council
• complete any outstanding Casey grant acquittals

The grant payment will be distributed in October 2026 and must be acquitted before 31 July 2027.

Funded organisations will track outcomes of this grant by reporting on:

• the number of people/households accessing food relief services for the first time
• the number of people/households who access nutritious and culturally appropriate food, and
• whether funded organisations experience improved capability, collaboration and sustainability

Organisations will provide simple, practical data (such as estimates, short responses and tick-box answers) to minimise reporting burden.

Making changes after your grant is successful

If a program or activity cannot go ahead as planned, or you need to change your project budget, we will ask you to complete an Application Variation Request. You must submit this form before the proposed change.

We will decide if we will approve your changes. We will let you know if we approve your variation request.

Our decision will be based on:

• how closely the changes align to the grant criteria
• the reason for the change
• the revised budget.

Victorian Child Safe Standards

Council has zero tolerance of child abuse and is committed to creating and maintaining a child safe and child friendly City where all children and young people are valued and protected from abuse harm or neglect. Child Safety is embedded in the everyday thinking and practice of Council, its employees, contractors and volunteers.

You must comply with all relevant Child Safety laws including but not limited to the Child Wellbeing and Safety Act 2005. This includes:

• Please refer to the Worker Screening Act 2020 to determine the Working with Children Check (WwCC) requirements for your service.
• Please refer to the Child Employment (Amendment) Act 2022 New licensing system to determine if your organisation needs one for the employment of children under the age of 15.
• Please refer to the Victorian Child Safe Standards for guidance on implementation.
• Please refer to the Reportable Conduct Scheme to confirm your organisations requirements.

For plain language guides, fact sheets, videos and other child safety resources. Please visit the Commission for Children and Young People

After your project is complete

After you have completed your project, you will need to tell us:

• how you spent the grant money
• what the outcomes of the project were

This is known as an acquittal process.

You must complete the acquittal process online within 60 days of spending the money or by the 31 July 2027 whichever is earliest.

If your application is unsuccessful

An email will be sent to unsuccessful groups explaining why the application was not successful.

Timeline

Contact us

Our Grants Officers are available to answer questions. You can contact them on 9705 5200 or communitygrants@casey.vic.gov.au 

If you need an interpreter, call the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National) on 131 450 then ask for 97055200. 

Please contact us as early as possible if you do need help to get your application in on time. We will not accept late applications for any reason, including internet or computer issues.