June 11, 2012
Mal Holmes is a man on a mission … he’s travelling from town to town to help set up food banks to assist the needy get nourishing food at an affordable price.
Now it’s the turn of the South Burnett.
When Mal stopped off in Kingaroy he ran into Pastor Danny Russell from the Christian Life Church. Pastor Danny had been thinking about the same idea for some time … and so the “South Burnett Pantry” sprang into being.
Volunteers have now formed a committee to guide the project and are in the process of registering the name.
The Pantry is open every Friday from 11:00am to 1:00pm at the Christian Life Church’s centre at 10 Kingaroy Street (in the industrial estate).
People are invited to come along, enjoy a barbecue lunch and register for a food parcel.
The barbecue is free but parcels cost $35. This has up to $100 worth of goods, including tinned foodstuffs, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, milk, meat, ice cream and frozen meals. There’s also 20 shelves of basic home products to choose from, including toilet paper.
“Best buys” – such as items just outside their ‘best by’ date – are not included in the parcel … just given away.
The Pantry has only been open for business twice but it is already attracting a steady clientele, and support from the community.
Last Friday there were eight volunteers staffing the store and about 30 people were provided with assistance.
Goods are sourced locally and from Brisbane.
Mal doesn’t plan to hang around. As soon as The Pantry is up and running smoothly, he’ll be off to spread the food bank “message” elsewhere.
But in the meantime, he has one more request of the South Burnett … does anyone out there have a van which they could donate to the project? This would help the group collect items more easily and make fewer return trips to Brisbane.
If you think you can help, please contact Pastor Danny on (07) 4163-6653.
