SouthernCare Food Pantry in Moruya started in 2008, from small beginnings, we are now like a mini Supermarket we are right next door to Moruya TAFE.
Pamela Reseigh, Manager of SouthernCare Community Aid told The Beagle "We offer a large range of goods, from Groceries to Frozen, at a very Low Cost to our members. Bread & Produce is FREE.
"Normally we do not order from Foodbank during the holidays but because our shelves were getting a little light on, we did an order last week and have done another order for next week, it is important that we look at what Foodbank has so we can keep our shelves full.
"The Transport Company who we dealt with to deliver our Frozen Goods has closed, I have sourced another company but it is twice the price we were paying before, which means the frozen goods will be a little more expensive to cover the cost of transport.
"Woolworths Moruya and Moruya French Hot Bread donate food to Pantry every week. We also collect food donations from Aldi in Batemans Bay on a weekly basis.
"When we start up again after these holidays on Wednesday July 20th, we will be having Home Made Soup for our members, together with Tea & Coffee.
"We need help to run smoothly and our volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization, without them we just couldn’t operate.
"We welcome anyone who is struggling financially, or anyone on low income or in a crisis" Pamela Reseigh, Manager of SouthernCare Community Aid
Pamela said "Just before the holidays we had 66 families come through our Pantry.
We have signed up between 25 – 30 people in the month of June/July, this tells us that people are finding it tough to make ends meet.
"We used to open on Thursdays but since Covid, we found we had too many people for one day so we increased our opening times to Wednesday s and Thursday s from 10am to 1pm, we are closed during School Holidays.
"Produce is scarce, so the Community Vegetable Garden we are building will be a great asset to our members.
"The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney “Community Greening” approached Sage Gardens to see if they could help in the Eurobodalla area to build a Community Garden, they suggested our Church Grounds and so the dream began to produce our own Fresh Vegetables onsite.
"Our introduction to Gardening Program began on 7th June over 6 weeks it ran for 2 days every fortnight finishing on 6th July.
"Before starting the Garden we had to decide on a few factors such as:
Where it was going to go, location is important.
What is the purpose of the Garden?
Who is going to help support the process and the ongoing care of the garden
"Some of our members have been involved in this wonderful program. Gardening in our Community also encourages fitness sharing of healthy seasonal fresh vegetables, increased social interaction and sense of community belonging. It will be such a blessing to our members to have fresh vegetables. It is also another way of having people connect, so important to our Mental Health to stay connected with people.
"Our garden is approximately 240sqm, we already have 2 raised Garden Beds, courtesy of The Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, and we have 5 No Dig Gardens. We also have a great Compost Area.
SouthernCare Food Pantry have now planted a variety of plants..
Pamela said "Our next working bee is on Thursday 14th July, @ 10am this is when we will decide on the next steps to take.
"We are planning on having tables and chairs so members can sit relax and enjoy a cuppa while working in the garden.
"We are happy for members of the Community to come along and help in whatever way they can.
"We cannot all give time or money, but maybe you could donate items to help our Community Garden, listed below are a few of the things we have identified to date.
NEEDS IDENTIFIED:
Garden Tools
Wheel Barrows
Coffee Grounds
Compost
Manure
Soil
Rustic outside Table & Chairs
Water tank
Fencing for around the garden
Gates x 2
Irrigation
Water Ups Raised Garden Beds (using wicking cells to fit into raised garden beds, saving water) – see Waterups.com.au
Signs
To find out more please phone 0439 514 340