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Your Community Pantry. @St Georges Uniting Church Hall Chandos St. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY. What is a community pantry?. a charity shop with a limited range of groceries and other items on a cost-recovery basis.
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Your Community Pantry @St Georges Uniting Church Hall Chandos St This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
What is a community pantry? • a charity shop with a limited range of groceries and other items on a cost-recovery basis. • Its basic purpose is to build community and help people balance their budget and feed themselves and their families. • It also saves food from going to landfill
Pantry beginnings • Community members with great ideas • St Georges Uniting Church with a space to share • Financial support from • NSW Family & Community Services • Bega Valley Shire Council • Volunteers
Builder –Scott Henson John Ironmonger, Steve Faggotter - on the roof and Peter Skelton December 2018
Your Community Pantry @St Georges Uniting Church Hall, Chandos Street, Eden This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
Why does Eden need a community pantry? • Serving your neighbour means helping meet basic needs and building a stronger community, no matter where you live. • High rents, personal problems, low employment opportunities all put pressure on the food budget. • Proper nutrition is basic to physical and mental health for every member of the family. • Provides a community hub which connects people with others. https://www.edenmagnet.com.au/story/6115761/welcoming-volunteers-cheap-essentials-make-eden-pantry-shopping-a-delight/?cs=658
Trading hours • The community pantry opens Thursdays, 10am to 1pm.
Who runs the community pantry? • The pantry is currently part of the Garden of Eden Community Project • It is managed by a sub – committee of St George’s Uniting church comprising church and community volunteers
Where will the food come from? • Food and other items are purchased from Foodbank. • Fruit, vegetables and bread are also donated from local supermarkets, growers, greengrocers, bakeries, and other businesses. • Volunteers from OzHarvest, SecondBite, Social Justice Asvocates are vital to supply. • Donations of fruit and vegetables from backyard growers are also very welcome
Who can shop at the community pantry? • Any adult can shop at the Pantry • Customers will not have to provide a social security card or any other form of paperwork to be able to access the Pantry
Our Costing Model • We pay for most of our groceries received from Foodbank • We pass this cost on to our customers, plus a small on-cost to cover rent, power and consumables such as paper bags, pens, aprons, cleaning items etc • For various reasons, we don’t put direct prices on goods. Instead, we use a “digit” system. One point = 20 cents, and numbers are written on the items. • For example, a 400g tin of baked beans is marked 4 points, which means it will cost 4 x 20 cents = 80 cents • We aim to provide our customers with considerable savings
Will the pantry affect local business? • We aim to work collaboratively with local businesses. IGA, & Coles managers have been visited in person and forwarded information. • The Sapphire Community Pantry in Bega, has found there to be little effect on local business • This is due to a number of reasons: • The trading hours and total turnover are very limited in comparison to supermarket hours and sales • The variety and range of stock in the Pantry is limited, so shopping at other local outlets is necessary. • Although shoppers will get many basic items from the Pantry, fresh dairy, meat, frozen meals and so on are not available
When was opening day? • The Eden Pantry opened for trading on Thursday 18th April 2019 Amelia and Claudia Loydell and Peter Skelton
Peter Skelton, Rev Michael Palmer & Kath Musgrove FACS Project Officer
Pantry beginnings • A community with vision • A church with a place and a mission to share - an expression of the Love of God and Love of neighbour. • lots of volunteers with generous hearts and minds and energy! Lisa Henry and Benita Creswick volunteers ( Rachel Mounsey phtograher)
What to bring • Friends and neighbours • A shopping bag • Some money • Patience and positive suggestions Volunteers Wendy Rammage and Rhonda Hawke
Want to volunteer? • If you think the Pantry is a great idea • If you are non-judgemental and empathetic • If you want to make the Pantry a success • If you want to give shoppers a dignified and respectful experience Then you sound like the ideal volunteer!
How can I help? There are lots of roles! • Unpacking boxes • Marking items • Offering hospitality • Cleaning • Serving the public and more!
Our Supporters Uniting Church in Australia Social Justice Advocates of the Sapphire Coast Coles- Second Bite Woolworths St Vincent de Paul Anglicare Campbell Page
For more information • Pam and Peter Skelton Tel 02 6496 2501 Tel 0410 225 657 Email pskelton@exemail.com.au • The Garden of Eden Community Project committee members • Christine Welsh Peter Buggy • Steve Faggotter Rev David Russell • Eileen Cameron Mick Brosnanor St Georges, Rev Michael Palmer 0423774735