Members of the public have been urged to be aware of people selling the Veilomani Food Bank application forms.
It has been established that the forms are being sold at $0.20 cents each.
The Ministry of Housing and Community Development has urged members of the public to be cautious and not to be victimised by such fraudulent activities.
Ministry permanent secretary Sanjeeva Perera says application forms for the Food Bank initiative are free of charge and are issued only by the ministry.
“The Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC) office used to issue these forms till last week but due to the large number of people gathering in front of the FCCC office in Lautoka in the last couple of days, we have decided to temporarily put it on hold,” Mr Perera was quoted saying in a Government statement.
He said the number of applications received had increased significantly.
In the last week alone, the Food Bank team received more than 1400 applications with most received from the Western Division.
“While there are families who genuinely need the assistance, there are also those who are trying to take advantage of the initiative. This is not an ‘assistance program for all’ and, therefore, we request members of the public to be honest with themselves before lining up for assistance.
“The aim of this initiative is to assist Fijians families who are genuinely struggling to put food on the table. We prioritise those who have completely lost their source of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those living in formal settlements.”
The ministry has so far distributed 229 food packs since early May of this year.
It has distributed food packs to families living in Rakiraki, Suva, Lami, Nasinu, Davuilevu, Koronivia, Valelevu, HART residence in Newtown, Newtown squatter settlement, Waidamudamu, Muanivatu, Wailea and Nanuku settlements, Cunningham Stage 1, Khalsa Road, Waituvi, Makoi, Narere, Caubati, Nadawa, Vatuwaqa, Jittu Street, Lagilagi Housing and Waila.
The Veilomani Food Bank team thanks the British, New Zealand and Australian High Commissions, the American and Japanese embassies, Asco Motors, Office of the Auditor General, the Fiji Development Bank, Leadership Fiji, other organisations and individuals who have come on board to assist affected Fijian families around the country.
