'Everyone needs to feed their families': Donation from city

These city residents have donated to Stanthorpe's drought relief appeal despite having no connection to the area

ROAD TRIP: Ditte Healy with the car full of donations headed to Stanthorpe. Picture: Contributed

WITH a car packed full of groceries and cash in hand to spend in town, Tea Poulsen and her daughter Ditte Healy made the two and a half hour trek from Brisbane to Stanthorpe to make a donation to the Stanthorpe Drought Relief appeal.

The home wares store owner has no connection to the area yet she plans to make another delivery next Monday which will be given to the local Foodbank.

"Stanthorpe is just on our doorstep, it's not somewhere up north and it's getting very close, how bad it is,” she said.

Ms Poulsen found out about the area through charity group Share the Dignity.

Local co-ordinator Kylie Hibberd shared a post among a private volunteer group which she said suddenly went viral through people talking to others.

"I get the impression that we are a little bit loved as a weekend getaway and to visit the wineries, people in the city had no idea this was happening on their back doorstep,” she said.

"And (they) were also starting to question why prices were starting to increase and why the quality of food was not necessarily there any more.”

Ditte Healy with Share the Dignity's Kylie Hibberd. Picture: Contributed

Ms Poulsen agreed they had started to notice as the cost of produce started to rise.

"People are complaining about how they (produce) look,” she said.

"A lot of people don't realise if we don't do anything now, it's going to affect us all in the next couple of years.

"I think everyone is a bit surprised that there's nothing more in the news here (in Brisbane) that it's this bad.”

She was also disappointed when she saw how little was in some of the food boxes: a loaf of bread, six oranges and a capsicum.

"I think we all have a responsibility to help, everyone there is doing it really tough,” she said. "In the country you're doing it tough if you can't put anything in the ground.

"Everyone needs to feed their families.”

Along with Ms Poulsen's donation, a trailer of items was left at the Sounds from the Vines festival on Saturday.

Ms Poulsen will make the journey to Stanthorpe on Monday, however is unsure if she'll become a regular visitor.

"I guess we'll see how it goes,” she said. "There's a number of people collecting down there.”