Moira Hodgekiss discusses starting iCare Kempsey for Anti Poverty Week

The group has over 10 volunteers and a network of connections who help organise donations, but back then was quite different.

After finishing up work as the financial manager for the Nambucca Valley Christian Community School, Moira started looking for a way to give back to the community.

While volunteering at Macleay Coast Church, she received a $50 donation which started it all.

She drove immediately to the supermarket, bought a variety of foods and canned goods, and began knocking on doors in a caravan park to see if anyone needed help.

"The manager would never let us go around there by ourselves, so he would walk with us every time we knocked on a caravan," Moira said.

Then came the road trips.

"We found people in Coffs Harbour who said they would pay for the food, but we would have to come pick it up every week," Moira said.

She explained it took some time to develop trust with the people she was helping.

"Initially they thought we were DOCS (Department of Community Services), and it has taken us years to develop a rapport. Now when we pull up, they just know that they can come up and trust us," Moira said.

What started in a tiny room in the back of the church, has grown to operating out of a large shed with a commercial sized fridge. The group has come a long way.

"I just cry every time I come here, because you should of seen how we started, we had nothing," Moira told the Argus.

For Anti Poverty week this year, organisations like iCare Kempsey are pushing for more awareness to those struggling to get by.

"We live in a low socio-economic area on the Mid North Coast, and if you just drive down a street, you don't need to be told, even though most Kempsey people don't know it exists," Moira said.

"I will say to people, five minutes away from your house there is someone starving."

In Australia, there are more than 3.24 million people or 13.6 per cent of the population living below the poverty line. That includes 774,000 children or more than 1 in 6.

Moira says the best way to tackle this issue, is take it head on and reach out to help.

"What we believe is that 'loves gotta look like something' so rather than them coming to you, we go to them," Moira said.