Serena Kirby, Denmark Bulletin
Emergency food provider, Foodbank, has begun a delivery service to Denmark to meet rising demand in the community.
Denmark Community Resource Centre manager Petra Thompson said the weekly delivery service of food hampers would assist a large number of local families and individuals.
The CRC had been talking to Foodbank and helping to get the mobile service up and running.
“We’re really grateful it has now commenced,” Petra said.
The CRC is responsible for taking the food orders and payments and then co-ordinating collection day, every Tuesday.
The delivery van arrives at 11am and people are asked to collect their orders as soon as possible as storage space is limited.
“In just these first few weeks we’ve seen the number of people using the service radically increase and we expect it will continue to do so,” Petra said.
Foodbank Albany branch manager Rod Pfeiffer said that while the mobile service had been running in Perth for some time, the regional need was now urgent.
“Not everyone can get to our Albany Foodbank hub and when you live regionally the cost of fuel can be a big concern,” Rod said.
Foodbank had tried to establish the delivery service for a while but COVID-19 had made finding volunteer drivers difficult.
An agency or organisation to coordinate at the destination point was needed and the CRC was ideal for the purpose.
“I’ve been with Foodback for eight years and there’s always been a need for emergency food but with the cost of living skyrocketing it’s now critical,” Rod said.
“Rarely does a week go by without someone telling me that if it wasn’t for Foodbank they wouldn’t eat.”
Anyone receiving a Centrelink payment can order any of the four different Foodbank hampers which include a fruit and vegetable box, a pantry box, a tuna pasta pack and a meat pack.
Each pack is sold at discount and must be paid for before collection from the CRC. To help support the program, Petra is calling on local businesses, community groups and individuals who may be able to provide food products, funds or even vouchers.
“I cannot stress enough that all our efforts at the moment are going into feeding those members of our community who are financially struggling and there are a lot of them,” Petra said.
“If you donate to us, all the money goes back to our local community.”
The CRC also runs a free food pantry and always needs donations of non-perishable food items.
To donate or find out more information, call the Denmark Community Resource Centre on 9848 2842 or visit in person.
The article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 19 May 2022.
