A new mobile farmers' market is streamlining the process of delivering food relief to struggling Gippsland families in eastern Victoria.

Key points: A mobile farmers' market in a truck is bringing free food to residents in the Latrobe Valley

A mobile farmers' market in a truck is bringing free food to residents in the Latrobe Valley The truck is designed in a way to enable 'customers' to select their own produce

The truck is designed in a way to enable 'customers' to select their own produce Local farming business are working with Farms to Families to support the program

Foodbank Victoria's Farms to Families program began last year with markets in Morwell in the Latrobe Valley.

The program, which delivers free food to families living below the poverty line, has now been boosted with external funding to develop a bespoke mobile market truck.

The new truck simplifies the packing process and empowers market attendees to pick their own produce from purpose-built produce bins.

Food programs and partnerships manager Zac Lewis said food was previously transported to Morwell on a semi-trailer and would have to be unloaded manually.

Farms to Families is working with local farming businesses to incorporate as much local produce as possible at the markets and adds to the 10 million kilograms of food the organisation distributes each year.

"We want this program to really reinvest back into the local community that it's also supporting," Mr Lewis said.

"Over the last couple of years we've realised Gippsland has gone through a really tough time with the closure of the Hazelwood mine and there has been quite a shift in a number of industries.

"In particular, Morwell and the Latrobe Valley certainly has a very strong level of disadvantage.

"We identified that it was an area where we couldn't really get fresh produce because of the transport component, so we designed this program to target this area so we know we can get that produce to the area that needs it most."

Mr Lewis said approximately 50 per cent of Latrobe Valley residents were not meeting Australia Dietary Guidelines for the consumption of fruit and vegetables.

People take fruit and vegetables from Foodbank Victoria's new mobile market truck in Morwell. ( ABC Gippsland: Peter Somerville )

Food given without judgement

Morwell's Samantha Beasley, who was at the Farms to Families market last week, said food relief made a huge difference to people struggling in the Latrobe Valley.

"It's such a wonderful thing for us in this community to have because the resources are so tight around here," Ms Beasley said.

"So many people are going through a hard time with a lack of work.

"It's a great help for me because I'm homeless [and] living in and out of motels and on people's couches.

"When you're in this situation and can't afford to buy fruit and veggies, you can come and get it from here. Everyone's so friendly and nobody judges you for coming."

Ms Beasley, who receives a government pension, said a large amount of her payment went to accommodation costs.

"So I can't afford to buy the fruit, veggies and meat I'd usually buy," she said, adding that it was reassuring to know the food on the truck came straight from farmers and had not been sitting on supermarket shelves.

"Most of it is from around here, and it's farmers supporting people in the valley who are struggling," she said.

Apples ready for collection at a Foodbank farmers' market in Morwell. ( ABC Gippsland: Peter Somerville )

Foodbank's agency relationships coordinator Brien Baxter was part of the team that designed the truck's layout.

He said the bins were made of food-grade nylon and had trapdoors at the bottom to regulate the rate at which produce flowed out into a catch tray.

"It enables us to carry 400 to 500 kilograms of food in each bin," Mr Baxter said.

"We started from scratch with the design, and had to accommodate for all fruit and vegetables having a different rate at which they roll out.

"It took a few test goes, but essentially I think we've hit the mark.

"We did a lot of the design work on the computer and only made very small modifications after the initial build."