Lake Macquarie food charity NourishEd has seen demand skyrocket by 210 per cent over the past year.
And as the cost of living continues to crunch household budgets, NourishEd director Nic Cade has noticed a distinct broadening of the demographic walking through the charity's Toronto doors.
"When we opened, we were a service mainly supporting vulnerable men or rough sleepers," Mr Cade said.
"Whereas now, we're supporting more families, more single parents, more people with mortgages, people with cars, people with full-time jobs, and two streams of income.
"But you know, when times get tough, the first thing that gets cut is food.
"We've now jumped from roughly about 70 to 80 people this time last year to 170 per week."
NourishEd was founded in September 2024 by Mr Cade when he was just 19 with his friend Jeremy Eastham. Both are western Lake Macquarie locals who are passionate about helping their community.
Mr Cade previously volunteered at Newcastle charity Soul Hub.
"It's been tough times for quite a while now, especially after COVID," he said.
"The real driving force is that we just don't want to see anyone go hungry, and we want to make sure that no one in Lake Mac or the wider Hunter has to choose between rent or food and that they have constant access to food when times get tough."
NourishEd initially operated out of a small shopfront on The Boulevard in Toronto but last month moved to a site three times larger in Leo Lewis Close in an industrial estate.
NourishEd's pool of volunteers has also grown to 50. They provide food hampers with fresh produce, bakery items, meat, canned goods, feminine hygiene products and frozen meals.
"Our goal in this space is that we can double our capacity as well as start to implement some additional community services such as hairdressing, chiro, medical clinics, and recovery groups," Mr Cade said.
"Our goal is to become a hub of help. We're doing the best we can.
"We receive no government funding; we're completely community-driven."
All funding for NourishEd is derived from community and local business donations and appeals.
Mr Cade also said vulnerable people were also becoming more visible on the western side of Lake Macquarie. There have been various reports of rough sleepers on the Toronto foreshore.
"We've really noticed that the visible rough sleepers - even though visible rough sleepers only make up 8 per cent of the total homelessness - that demographic has certainly become more visible, particularly in Toronto," Mr Cade said.
"The foreshore's a big one. There are a lot of different parks and cemeteries and different things locally where we're noticing a lot of encampments pop up."
