{"id":365801,"date":"2025-10-13T21:58:59","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T11:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=365801"},"modified":"2025-10-13T23:24:44","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:24:44","slug":"just-1-a-week-from-1000-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2025\/10\/13\/just-1-a-week-from-1000-people\/","title":{"rendered":"Just $1 A Week From 1000 People …"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Burnett Pantry manager Jim Bennett with volunteer Krissy Jenkins<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 13, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

The South Burnett Pantry in Kingaroy is one of the key supports for struggling families in the South Burnett, and it’s not just its hard-working volunteers who believe this.<\/p>\n

It’s groups such as South Burnett CTC, Graham House, The Salvation Army, South Burnett Centacare, South Burnett Care … (see the video below).<\/p>\n

This is why a committee representing some of these groups set up a Sustainability Working Group just over 12 months ago to ensure the Pantry can continue to grow \u2013 and support the public \u2013 into the future.<\/p>\n

Several groups have already dug deep to help this “sustainability project”.<\/p>\n

Supporting the Pantry for the next three years are South Burnett Care ($10,000\/year),\u00a0 South Burnett CTC ($10,000\/year) and Kingaroy Rotary ($5000\/year).<\/p>\n

Donations of $5000 each have also been received from Kingaroy Lions and the local Baptist church.<\/p>\n

But more is needed, which is why the Pantry contacted the Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry recently to help promote an employer \/ employee workplace giving scheme.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Pantry hosted a KCCI meet’n’greet last month to explain to local businesspeople what it does, who it helps and why it is seeking support from the community.<\/p>\n

KCCI vice-president Jason Erbacher, who compered the meet’n’greet, said the Pantry was a staple service which the community needed and relied upon.<\/p>\n

Sustainability Working Group chair Ruth Dukes said there were more and more people living locally who were in crisis and there were no other food services in Kingaroy providing the type of support that the Pantry does.<\/p>\n

Current Pantry manager Jim Bennett wants to return to pastoral work after devoting more than a decade volunteering with the Pantry.<\/p>\n

“I have reached retirement age and I want to step back from this and get someone who has a better business brain than me,” Jim said.<\/p>\n

South Burnett Care CEO Cheryl Dalton said the Pantry needed someone to lead it to ensure it stays in the community in perpetuity, ie. a paid manager.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“It is tough out there,” Cheryl said.<\/p>\n

“You have a husband who loses a job, your rent is $600 a week, you have to put food on the table … every one of us could be here at some stage looking for support.”<\/p>\n

She said businesses could invite their staff members to donate $1, $2 or $5 a week to help the project, deducted automatically from their wages.<\/p>\n

“It would be huge if we could get 1000 people donating $1 a week,” Cheryl said.<\/p>\n

But why not just seek government funding?<\/p>\n

One of the strengths of the Pantry is that people do not require a concession card to buy food.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we accept government help for wages, we can\u2019t help people who don\u2019t have a concession card,\u201d Jim said.<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Some basic facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n