Food Pantry clientele increases three times in a year
Every fortnight, a team of volunteers provide support for those in need in our community at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Woy Woy.
Coordinator Ms Michelle Barlow said the Food Pantry service was important to the community, with the number of users exponentially increasing.
"Our clientele has increased over the last year from 30-40 people per fortnight to now up to 120 people," she said.
Ms Barlow said that Bakers Delight in Woy Woy generously donated bread the pantry, but it received no support from local supermarkets and relied on donations from community.
"Our support comes from the community who donate food items to our pantry, and we buy food supplies from Foodbank in Sydney," she said.
Disadvantaged members of the community were asked to pay $10 and in return received more than $100 in groceries.
One user of the service described how important the service was for them: "Raising two grandchildren, services like this go a long way at making things a little bit easier."
Member for Gosford Ms Liesl Tesch recently visited the team to find out how local residents were affected by "the cost of living crisis".
Ms Tesch said the rise in services such as the Food Pantry was a reminder of the cost of living pressures.
She thanked all the volunteers for helping their community."
"Over the past 12 years, the Liberals have privatised over $90 billion in public assets, including our electricity network, power stations and motorways.
"By selling off these assets to private companies, the Government has lost control of prices, making cost of living pressures even harder.
"The rise of services like these act as a reminder of how bad the cost of living crisis is," Ms Tesch said.
"The team at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church would really appreciate more donations of canned food, toiletries and cat and dog food, which can be left at 6 Lismore Ave, Woy Woy."
SOURCE:
Media release, 2 Dec 2022
Liesl Tesch, Member for Gosford