A crippling nationwide volunteer shortage has left many communities struggling to support Australia's most vulnerable, but a food charity in Brisbane's south says it has found a way to keep going week in, week out.
Organiser Jimmy Fahham said he relied on more than 25 volunteers to hand out thousands of free meals as part of the Community Friends food bank in West End each week.
But a decline in volunteer numbers forced Mr Fahham to come up with a new solution.
He decided to ask those who came to receive food to help out.
"I walk up there, to people who are standing in line and say, 'give us a hand' and they're willing to do it," he said.
In 2010, one in three Australians volunteered a combined total of more than 700 million hours across sectors including sports, religion, education and social service.
Since then volunteering has dropped by 250 million hours — the equivalent of 6 million full-time jobs — a long-term trend only exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.
Mr Fahham said asking recipients to volunteer helped build the confidence of those who were struggling to find paid work.
"You [ask] a few times, then automatically, when they see the truck here, they know they're here for reason," he said.
"And then they'll get used to it. They'll feel like they're useful."
Communities pitch in
Mr Fahham said his message to others was to be bold and ask others to help out.
"You have to give back to the community what you took," Mr Fahham said.
"We [are] all one team."
"You might as well give your time, give your happiness, share your news. Anything, you know, instead of just sitting back and feel[ing] sorry for yourself."
Many Community Friends regulars arrive as early as midday to unpack truckloads of fruit and vegetables, tinned cans, bread, milk and meat, and help hand them out throughout the afternoon.
Additional volunteers sizzle up snags on the park barbecue, while others hand out coffees and homemade pastries to those who arrive early to reserve their spot in the queue.
Community Friends volunteer Judith Robinson said the community spirit was what kept bringing her back week after week.
"There's some wonderful characters living in the area and, you know, you just end up establishing friendships with them and [hear] just incredible, wonderful stories," she said.
"It's just a small gesture but [I try] to remember how people have their tea or coffee. They like that."
A promising strategy for the sector
Volunteer recruitment researcher Vivien Forner said the strategy had the potential to work for other volunteer organisations where recipients had the capacity to give back as a volunteer.
"It depends on the kind of service," she said.
"Often volunteer organisations are delivering services to the most vulnerable in the community, and it's not often those people can give anything else that they have."
"But perhaps there may be a time later down the track for those experiencing homelessness, or people who get other support services, after the crisis passes [when they can volunteer]."
For example, those who receive assistance from the State Emergency Service during a flood may be more willing to become an SES volunteer.
But Dr Forner, a researcher at the University of Sydney, said those receiving services from volunteer organisations may not realise that volunteering could be an option.
"Communication is really, really important for volunteering and supporting volunteering and supporting volunteering engagement," she said.
"[In this case that means] making it explicit in the communication during the delivery of service that that's an option."
More funding for organisational change
Dr Forner is also calling on governments to provide additional funding to volunteer organisations to allow them to change their systems and culture to better support volunteers.
"We're seeing organisations needing to focus on the quality of the volunteering experience and providing a volunteer experience where volunteers can be happy and stay long-term," she said.
"[But] volunteering organisations often don't have the financial capacity to initiate widespread organisational change that is required."
In 2020, the Australian Bureau of Statistics found that two in three volunteers would choose to volunteer do so out of personal satisfaction or to do something worthwhile.
But Dr Forner said volunteers were most likely to leave their volunteer organisation when they felt under supported, under appreciated, or unable to contribute productively to the organisation's cause.
"Volunteering is part of our culture. It's critical for our emergency service response," she said.
"[That] makes it really important that the Australian government is actively investing in volunteering and policies that support volunteering and the future sustainability of volunteering."
