We Support Foodbank SA
Our speaker on 30th October was Greg Pattison from Foodbank.
Foodbank is a non-denominational, non-profit organisation which acts as a pantry
to the charities and community groups who feed the hungry. It was first established in 1992 in NSW and now has a presence in every state and the Northern Territory with distribution centres in all state capitals as well as a number of regional centres.
Foodbank rescues edible, but surplus food and groceries from the country’s farmers, manufacturers and retailers. This includes product that is out of specification, close to date code, has incorrect labelling or damaged packaging as well as excess stock and deleted lines. Without Foodbank much of this food would simply go to landfill.
In Australia, Food bank usually operates on the "warehouse" model. It acts as food storage and distribution depot for front line agencies. After the food is collected, sorted, and reviewed for quality, Food banks distribute it to non-profit community or government agencies, including charitable organisations and soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and schools.
Last year Foodbank provided enough food for over 63 million meals. The Rotary Club of Holdfast Bay works with Foodbank by doing sausage sizzles and assisting with packing of hampers. On Thursday 19th October, Robert Cesana, Greg Lang and Peter Gapp cooked a BBQ lunch for 120 persons on behalf of Food Bank at Gepps Cross Woolworth’s head office. The BBQ was for all their liquor store managers. We collected a boot full of food for their distribution outlets; we were thanked for our effort by all present. Below is a photo of the Holdfast Bay team during morning tea break at Foodbank SA on 26th October.
The team was there packing Christmas hampers for those in our community who need a little help and a little hope that people care, and according to the staff at Foodbank the need for this service is growing. The team worked a full morning with volunteers from Cummins and packed just over 400 hampers.
In addition to this work our Club has several volunteers who work in the Food Hub at Edwardstown. The Food Hub is a mini supermarket where people who are given vouchers from various welfare agencies can shop. The system tries to “normalise” the shopping experience of the customers in a friendly and welcoming environment. Members work on average 20 hours a week in the Food Hub.
Our members are often called on to assist at special functions such as the Westfield Winter Food Drives. Here we manage the collection of food items into bins outside of Coles and Woolworths shops and hand out flyers and collect cash donations for Foodbank.
Foodbank SA also conduct pop-up sessions in which a quantity of food (approx. 80 tonnes) is taken to a large Community Hall, to be given to recipients. The last pop-up had 700 people attending who were collecting food for about 1200 people. At these events members of our club cook sausage sizzles for the people collecting the food.
By Peter Gapp, Rotary Club of Holdfast Bay
