TACKLING HUNGER WITH DIGNITY
A NEW program will bring together food relief and hospitality venues to address food insecurity in our region and bring people the dignity of choice.
The Give Where You Live Foundation has recently launched the new food voucher program, called Community Choice, and is looking to expand in the new year by partnering with socially minded hospitality venues across the region.
3219 Eat is a community cafe situated in Whittington at the Encompass social enterprise complex, offering affordable food options, and has signed on to be a Community Choice merchant.
Jan Daniels, business services manager at Encompass Community Services Hub 3219 and Homestart, said: “As a community meeting place, we would like to offer inclusive dining opportunities for all, irrespective of someone’s financial situation.”
“With the work we are doing with the Give Where You Live Foundation and community agencies in the provision of material aid assistance, our 3219 Eat cafe is well placed to provide a one-stop, stress-free shopping experience to those who may need a friendly face, a warm meal or simply some coffee and cake,” Ms Daniels said.
The new initiative works by combining the resources of the hospitality industry to bolster the food relief sector by providing people experiencing food insecurity with vouchers for participating hospitality outlets.
After securing funding from the state government the foundation set to work reimagining its existing voucher program to create a program easier for organisations to implement and users to access.
The initiative aims to provide more choices to people accessing food relief while also increasing accessibility in where and what food relief people can receive.
The vouchers will give an expected boost of $66,000 to the local hospitality and food relief sectors between January and June.
The foundation funds the vouchers, which will then be distributed through several local community agencies.
These agencies will then distribute the vouchers to people experiencing food insecurity so they can access food from local food relief organisations, in addition to cafes and restaurants participating in the initiative.
Give Where You Live Foundation chief executive Bill Mithen said hospitality had been deeply affected by the pandemic, and so had the need for accessible food relief. “By creating this link between the two we can strengthen both while we continue to see the effects of Covid-19,” Mr Mithen said.
The foundation is inviting local hospitality businesses to contact it to express interest in becoming a vendor.