Every fortnight a team of volunteers provides support for those in need at the Seventh Day Adventist Church pantry in Woy Woy, with more donations needed.
Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch visited the team recently and spoke to many local community members about the cost of living crisis.
Michelle Barlow, one of the coordinators, said the number of users of the church’s pantry was on the rise.
“Our clientele has increased over the last year from 30-40 people per fortnight to now up to 120 people,” she said.
While Bakers Delight at Woy Woy generously donates bread every fortnight. Barlow said the pantry receives no support from local supermarkets and relies 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.
Users of the pantry are asked to pay $10 and in return receive groceries valued at over $100.
One user, who is raising two grandchildren, said services such as the pantry go a long way towards making things a little bit easier.
Tesch said the rise in demand for services such as the food pantry acts as a reminder of the cost of rising living costs.
“As the cost of living pressures rise and the number of people relying on food support increases, (I say) thank you to all the volunteers for helping their community,” she said.
“Over the past 12 years, the Liberals have privatised over $90B 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 acts as a reminder of how bad the cost of living crisis is.”
The team at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church is in need of more donations of canned food, toiletries and cat and dog food.
Donations can be sent to 6 Lismore Ave, Woy Woy.
Source:
Media release, Dec 2
Member for Gosford Liesl Tesch