Latest news with #foodrelief
ABC News
19-06-2025
- ABC News
Community's poorest scammed out of MyGov payments via Canberra charity impersonators
Canberra's St John's Care is a lifeline to those who are vulnerable and hungry. "We give out food to anyone in need who comes through the door, " executive officer Jason Haines explained. But the emergency food relief centre has spent more than a year pleading with social media giant Meta to remove impostor Facebook pages scamming desperate and hungry people out of their Centrelink payments. "But we've done everything we possibly can to get this to stop." The organisation said it was aware of about 50 people who have fallen victim to scammers purporting to be the charity and offering fake loans. Mr Haines described the scammers as "ingenious" in their cunning. He said the phoney pages appeared legitimate through stolen and republished photos and posts from the organisation's actual account. "It was amazing to see," Mr Haines remarked. But St John's Care does not offer loans. "So, if you're already hungry, you're desperate, you want to get the kids to school, the car's broken down, or you want to wash your clothes or something. You might think, 'Oh, interest free loans, oh, St John's Care is really good'. "So then people would give all their details." Mr Haines said dozens of victims had sent the scammers their login details for MyGov, an online account for individuals to access Commonwealth services, with the criminals managing to steal Centrelink payments. Devastatingly for Mr Haines, the charity's awareness of the scam did little to help it stop the crimes. "As of last month, there were 15 fake St John's Care accounts all at once on Facebook," he said. "We actually lost our Facebook page for about six or seven weeks because the impostors said we were the fake ones and we got taken down. Mr Haines said the charity had spent many hours over 15 months reporting impostor accounts to Meta without hearing anything back. Meta did not respond to detailed questions about St John's Care's ordeal, but in a statement a Meta spokesperson said the safety of its users was of "utmost importance". "Meta doesn't want scams on our platforms and we are continuing to invest in tools and technology to prevent them," the statement read. Mr Haines said one of the most alarming parts was that some of the fake accounts appeared to be promoted content. "So, the [scammers] pretending to be us were paying to promote it. So, Meta was actually potentially making money," he said. Meta did not respond to this allegation when questioned by the ABC. Mr Haines said St John's Care never asks for a person's sensitive information. He added that those wanting to donate to the charity can do so securely via the St John's Care website, over the phone or in person. The organisation said it had alerted ACT Policing and Centrelink to the scams. For scams that involve the theft of personal information through deception, Scamwatch suggests victims contact their banks immediately and "ask them to stop any transactions". "Change passwords on all your devices and online accounts like banking, email, government and shopping," Scamwatch recommended. Victims can also report scams to create public awareness.
Washington Post
18-06-2025
- Washington Post
Firms led by US military veterans deliver aid in Africa and Gaza, alarming humanitarian groups
ON A PLANE OVER UPPER NILE STATE, South Sudan — Swooping low over the banks of a Nile River tributary, an aid flight run by retired American military officers released a stream of food-stuffed sacks over a town emptied by fighting in South Sudan , a country wracked by conflict .
Yahoo
01-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Opinion - Federal food aid cuts will cause America's hunger crisis to skyrocket
The Daily Table, one of the largest food banks in Boston, recently announced it was closing its doors after serving more than 3 million people throughout the city over the past decade. The organization cited high food prices and an 'uncertain funding environment' as the main reasons. 'Without immediate funding to bridge us through 2025, we cannot continue,' read the group's farewell note to supporters. Pantries like the Daily Table across the country are struggling to stay open after the U.S. Department of Agriculture quietly cut $1 billion in 2025 funding back in March for food relief programs that have historically supported the nation's most disadvantaged communities. Specifically, the USDA abruptly slashed the Emergency Food Assistance Program, which supported food banks in addressing the growing hunger crisis in America. The agency also canceled the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program, USDA-led initiatives that paid farmers and ranchers to produce the food that pantries and schools distributed to those in need. '[Funding] is no longer available and those agreements will be terminated following 60-day notification,' a USDA spokesperson bluntly told Politico when the cuts were discovered. Food banks depend on federal funding to help those in need. The USDA cuts have hit these organizations hard, stifling their ability to fulfill their missions in West Virginia, New York, California, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and beyond. Three District of Columbia-area food banks have delivered 1.4 million fewer meals since the USDA action, and these numbers are certain to grow. The need for food banks has never been greater. According to the USDA's own data, over 47 million people resided in food-insecure households in 2023. Demand in Nebraska is four times greater than it was in 2018, while some food pantries in Texas are serving 25 percent more people today than before the pandemic. And in what may be the most troubling statistic of all, nearly half of the residents in Kentucky and Indiana face an impossible choice of either paying for food or covering their utility bills. The USDA actions were a potential blow to farmers — a constituency the Trump administration has vowed to protect. They also defy the Trump administration's 'Farmers First' agenda. 'The defense of the family farm is a defense of everything America has been — and everything we will be,' wrote USDA Secretary Brooke L. Rollins in announcing the imperative. 'It is my privilege to come to their defense.' Canceling these programs is a slap in the face to every farmer who relies on federal support to help vulnerable Americans receive the food they need to survive. These economic initiatives drive local agriculture and are a vital source of revenue, especially for small farm operators. The USDA cuts deepen the impact for those who already lack access to healthy meals. Before the USDA rollbacks began, nearly 10 million children were at risk of going hungry this summer due to states opting out of the Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer program. Eliminating federal support for food banks will make their untenable situation even worse. And if House Republicans move forward with a plan to decimate the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program in their proposed budget bill, the hunger crisis in America could become a full-blown emergency. SNAP currently helps 40 million low-income families afford groceries every month. The House bill, if approved, would gut the program by more than $260 billion over the next 10 years to help offset the Trump administration's tax cut proposals. The House GOP plan puts an added burden on states to make up the difference in SNAP support, many of which are financially strapped and won't be able to cover the funding gap. The USDA cuts come at a time when food prices are expected to rise 3.5 percent in 2025 alone due to recent tariff increases. They will have a 'significant and damaging impact' for millions who rely on these programs for food support, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and other U.S. senators have argued. Administration officials and members of Congress alike should heed the warnings from those on the front lines who run food banks and have seen firsthand the impacts the USDA cuts have had on their ability to address food insecurity in their communities. 'We've never before faced a situation like we are in now,' said Michael McKee, CEO of Virginia-based Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. '[The] need is well beyond any disaster or financial crisis that we've seen, and the government's response is to take food away.' 'This isn't about ideology,' he added. 'It's about math.' Let's have compassion for those with nothing to eat by restoring food programs that offer them nourishment and hope for a better future. Lyndon Haviland is a distinguished scholar at the CUNY School of Public Health and Health Policy. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
AT&T, food vendors team up for STL tornado relief
ST. LOUIS – A partnership with the food truck association and AT&T provided hundreds of meals to the victims of the May 16 tornado. 'The biggest issue right now is getting hot meals out to people who can't make it out,' Chris Franzen with AT&T said. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Franzen said AT&T partnered with three food trucks to deliver hot meals to three different neighborhoods in north St. Louis. 'For me, this hit home; this is my home, this is my community. So AT&T, yes, is a very large company, but for me personally it is more than that. It is getting out in the community and bringing visibility to this issue,' Franzen said. Eric Smith volunteers with No Sauce BBQ, a group that has been out in north St. Louis since the first day after the storms to help anyone in need. 'This is like a small band-aid to what is going on, literally. There are people that can't even get here. So we've been riding around because there are people whose cars are messed up, people who can't even go to work,' Smith said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Foodbanks hungry for desperately-needed funding from Budget
Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi A collective of Auckland foodbanks has asked the government for ongoing annual funding for food parcels to distribute to those most in need. Auckland City Missioner Helen Robinson said they have been given no assurance of such funding and are waiting to find out what is in Thursday's budget. "This mission that I am responsible for, we are simply holding our breath, praying that food will be funded. The consequence of that food not being funded is very serious," she said. "It's also a reality that every food bank in the country is facing, so there is no assurance of any funding for any food relief for any organisation in the country." The mission is among a group of Auckland foodbanks that sent a closed letter to Minister of Social Development (MSD) Louise Upston ahead of the budget. The Salvation Army runs 60 foodbanks and is among signatories, its food security manager Sonya Cameron said they need secure multi-year funding. "We're really in a situation of not being able to plan, not knowing come beginning of July whether we'll have enough funding to keep going in terms of supporting people who are coming to our foodbanks." Cameron said its direct government funding had dropped by two-thirds and they were waiting to find out what was in Thursday's budget. "We're obviously really nervous, we've asked MSD if they can let us know as soon as they possibly can," she said. "The concern is not just for ourselves but other foodbanks. We've already seen other foodbanks who've closed down or struggled to provide decent support and when others close down that increases the pressure on other foodbanks such as ourselves." Foodbanks started to receive direct government funding in 2020 during the pandemic and over the following four years more than $200 million was invested in the sector. Food security funding was extended with one-off grants to 13 providers last year including the mission, which received a one-off $700,000 from MSD for food parcels. Foodbanks started to receive direct government funding in 2020 during the pandemic and over the following four years more than $200 million was invested in the sector. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Robinson said the mission has the staff and systems in place to distribute 50,000 food parcels and that funding meant they did not have to reduce food parcels by more than half to 20,000 - during a cost of living crisis. The mission will have distributed between 35,000 to 40,000 food parcels by the end of June - each parcel feeds a family of four for three meals, for four days. Robinson said it would cost an annual $30m for the government to meet the basic needs of people who are literally hungry. She said many families did not have enough income to cover the cost of housing and were seeking food support. "There is a whole range of people who are coming to us who are needing support for food," she said. "It means that kids are hungry, kids are hungry when they go to school. It means mothers are doing everything within their power to get through a day on very limited food or no food." Finance Minister Nicola Willis this month announced a $190m Social Investment Fund, which is part of a broader $275m commitment over four years to the government's social investment approach. The fund would be governed by the new Social Investment Agency and was expected to invest in at least 20 initiatives in its first year. It's not clear yet whether that includes food security initiatives. Cameron said the Salvation Army is facing significant funding drops across all of its services at a time when there is increasing demand. Some foodbanks have had to reduce their services. "What we're already finding is a lot of them have had to reduce the number of days or hours that they're open and set timeframes for whanau coming back to limit demand." Cameron said the organisation was seeing people struggling with the longer-term effects of hunger and malnutrition. "They've got no energy, food consumes all of their thoughts due to their hunger and they're ending up with chronic health conditions, poor mental health." Longer term, she said there needs to be a national food security strategy, such as what Australia's new Labour government is looking to do with Feeding Australia. "We talk proudly about being able to feed 40 million people overseas yet we've got 27 percent of our children who are hungry here. We produce more than enough good food, we just need to keep some of it here," Cameron said. "It would be great to see that this government starts prioritising feeding New Zealanders too." Robinson said they wanted the government to enter the discussion about long term food security. "How do we ensure that all people in New Zealand have enough food? That is possible within our country. We make enough food to feed 40 million of us," she said. "So this is not about production of food, this is about the distribution of food and then particularly the distribution of income." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
