As you enter the Bk 2 Basics warehouse in the early hours of a Friday morning, Kelly Warren and her volunteers are already hard at work.
There’s a line of people with empty bags entering their food warehouse, but rest assured, they never leave empty handed.
It’s loud — from people, some strangers, chatting away as they pick their groceries, to delivery trucks donating a range of different items.
Walking in, a volunteer encourages someone perusing the pallet of fresh vegetables to “take as much” as they need.
In the wake of grappling food insecurity and lack of affordability, Kelly’s ground up organisation aims to fill a small gap among Casey’s struggling community — instilling a lifeline for many who are struggling.
According to a 2024 annual household survey, nearly 40 per cent of residents in Casey experience food insecurity, some cutting back on weekly grocery shopping and others skipping meals altogether.
But 2025 brought its obstacles to the non-profit from strict permits and regulations instated by the council to appealing the motion to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).
The idea for Bk 2 Basics, began in 2013 after Kelly and her family migrated from New Zealand with her children and limited funds in their pockets.
Inspired by her daughter who was eight at the time and who would take extra food from her home pantry to give to those who would go to school with no lunch.
“We had no name on the street. We were just a family helping, with friends, people off social media coming to help volunteer,” explained Kelly.
“And we thought of ‘Back 2 Basics’ and we started in our carport, feeding about 50 to 100 families a week.”
Kelly Warren’s charity has now expanded to multiple warehouses on Vesper Drive in Narre Warren, but not without many hurdles.
Back in 2019, the Casey council told the charity to shut its carport system down due to not meeting planning scheme requirements and complaints in the area.
But not long after, a generous donation from a Dandenong businessman allowed them to work from a Narre Warren Warehouse on Vesper Drive.
It was not long after that the pandemic hit, and as most charitable food providers shut their doors, Bk 2 Basics kept working for the community and they acquired a second warehouse next door.
In 2025, they were again at risk of being forced to shut their doors for good after the council placed rigid restrictions around how the charity was permitted to operate.
At a council meeting, it granted the charity permission to operate, but with limits to delivery traffic, waste storage, car parking and a complete ban on selling from its op-shop — limits that Kelly says were too difficult to meet.
In fighting back, Kelly took the matter to VCAT, appealing the decision by the council.
And in November, they were told that the charity had won the appeal.
“Our new permits have been drawn up, and everything’s hunky dory,” said Kelly.
“For the first time in three years, $76,000 later, which is a shame, because that $76,000 could have gone towards the community.”
A FoodBank Hunger report released in November cited the feeling of embarrassment as a main barrier preventing people from seeking assistance — a stigma that Kelly’s charity is working hard to tackle.
To accommodate those who may feel weary or nervous about coming into the charity, Kelly often allows them to come in earlier, when the warehouse is quiet.
“We get them in before we open and they shop before everyone gets here,” she said.
Explaining that she knows all too well of what it feels like to have anxiety over things that are out of someone’s control – taking her back to her cancer diagnoses where her anxiety led to sleepless nights.
“Because I know what anxiety is like,” said Kelly.
“I got anxiety after I got cancer. Never had anxiety in my life. And I remember when I got told about the cancer, and I just couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t sleep. I thought the cancer had moved to my lungs.
“So yeah, we let those anxious people come in before we open.”
“And when people message and go, ‘I’m so embarrassed’, I go, never be embarrassed…
“I never wanted people to feel like that and to feel embarrassed. I want them to feel welcomed and that’s what people do here,”
For Kelly, the charity instils a sense of community that transcends the walls of the warehouse on Vesper Drive.
From organising food bags for firefighters battling the 2020 Black Summer fires to donating thousands of toys to households struggling during the Christmas period and to organising Christmas dinners where anyone who wants can attend.
Already, in December 2025, Bk 2 Basics was able to obtain a third warehouse for storage and increased capacity, and as they continue their generosity into 2026, Kelly will continue to lean on her community, including her family, friends and fellow Bk 2 Basics volunteers.
