“We are here until the end.”
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These are the words of the volunteers from Georgie’s Pantry in Parkes, who have opened their doors to the shire’s farmers during what has been described as Australia's worst drought in 50 years.
The Anglicare Pantry is offering free groceries to farmers every Friday between 1pm and 4pm from their location at 43 Currajong Street.
They began the initiative five weeks ago and all they need now is for farmers to know it’s here for them if they need it.
“Foodbank, a not-for-profit organisation that supports not-for-profit [groups], were looking at doing hampers for farmers – we thought about it but people could be given lotion for example when maybe they need toothpaste instead,” volunteer Derrick Milling said.
“So we decided we’ll let people come in and select what they need.
“We’ve bitten the bullet, we’re going to open the door and start the charge.”
Farmers are invited to come into the Pantry to select the items they need – with many donations also coming from community members and the students, teachers and families of Parkes Christian School.
“You can see rural people have put this table of items together because it’s very practical. It was purchased locally too,” Derrick said.
Farmers will also be given produce, frozen bread and fruit.
“There’s no forms, no joining fee, all we ask is for their name and property name,” Derrick said.
“Anglicare granted us $5000 to start the Friday pantry.
“The Parkes Christian School provisions and other contributors boosted it even further.
“There’s heart for the work, it’s just a matter of making people aware the facility is here – it’s a pretty switched-on operation.”
And Derrick said they’ll be supporting farmers for as long as the drought lasts.
“800,000 tonnes of food is wasted every year in Australia,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for services like ours, this would just go in the hole.”
Representatives from Foodbank had recently travelled out to the Parkes area to interview several people who were impacted by the drought.
“They told us that because of the work we’re doing here our last order was free...We order up to $800 of items from Foodbank,” Derrick said.
Georgie’s Pantry have been open to those in need every Thursday from 10am to 4pm for more than five years.
The Pantry receives provisions from Aldi and Woolworths and purchases the majority of their products from Foodbank in Sydney.
The goods are transported to Parkes by Parkes Couriers with the help of a state government freight subsidy.
They also purchase a small proportion of items from local supermarkets on a weekly basis.
Members of the Pantry purchase a basket for $25 and have the opportunity to order meat trays for $25, which volunteers order from Buttabeef Butchery at a subsidised cost.
All volunteers ask is for people to show their welfare card when joining the Pantry.
The Pantry boosts seven volunteers and has a client list of more than 30 people that continues to grow.
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