Vulnerable Canberrans will have access to food relief as a result of the ACT Government’s food pantry initiative.
Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Suzanne Orr, has today announced that the ACT Government will work together with community partners, including Uniting Care Kippax, Oz Harvest and The Foodbank to provide urgent food and essential items through a food pantry.
The ACT Government will provide $1.5 million over the next six months to ensure vulnerable people get the food and items they need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stage 1 will initially involve supporting the existing crisis and relief centres throughout our community. The Canberra Relief Network will be a central point for procurement and distribution of goods to organisations. This is to enable and empower the organisations to continue meeting the increasing demands of the community during these unprecedented times.
Once the centralised model is established, the CRN will move to Stage 2 – providing direct support to individuals and families who are unable to access existing services. The food pantry will be delivered from a central coordination point supporting vulnerable Canberrans, including people living with disability. Existing foodbank provisions will remain in place until Stage 2 is up and running early next week.
A call centre is also being set up to assist people in isolation or quarantine. People will be able to register through the call centre for access to the food pantry. Once established, the number will be published on https://kippax.org.au/.
As stated by Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Suzanne Orr:
