Charity organisations helping to feed those in need have received a boost from Bundaberg Regional Council this week.
Council had its annual staff barbecues scheduled throughout the week but, with the developing COVID situation in south-east Queensland, had chosen to postpone the events.
Rather than see the food go to waste, it has been put to good use after being donated to Angels Community Group and the Anglican Parish Dorcas Soup Kitchen.
Angels Community Group operations manager Jasmine Tasker said the group made about 80 hampers each week and the pre-prepared salads which Council donated would be welcomed by recipients.
“We’re going to put them into smaller containers that are sealed,” Jasmine said.
“We can give them to anyone. They’re going to be a really good donation for the homeless, they don’t have cooking facilities.
“We don’t do pre-done meals usually, if we do, they’re frozen.
“This will be perfect because they can just have it in their bag and pull it out and it will be good to go.”
She said the team who made the hampers were very happy to see the food donation from Council, which would be provided to hamper recipients over the next one to two weeks and may be something they continue to offer.
“That’s a cool thing to have made up for them.
“It’s also given us some ideas.”
Food donation supports soup kitchen
Bundaberg Anglican Parish administration officer Charlene Savage said Council had also donated fresh food to the Dorcas Soup Kitchen.
“It meant some of our funding, which would have been channelled towards buying items such as fruit and eggs which are the items that were donated, our funding would have had to go to purchasing some of those items,” Charlene said.
“It also adds to our variety that we’re able to offer the clients who attend or soup kitchen.”
And Charlene said any dollar saved was a positive, with the cost of running the soup kitchen increasing as a result of COVID restrictions which meant they could no longer offer dine in options.
“In these days of COVID-19 our outreach has had to become takeaway.
“The money is not meeting its best need by purchasing takeaway containers but there is really no better way to do that at the moment.”
Charlene thanked Council for the food donation and for its continued support of the charity organisation.
