Doubling up on goodwill

Grant is Heaven sent for food relief charity

TWICE as many meals will soon be on the table at Gateway Community Care in Devonport after its Heaven’s Kitchen program was granted a new oven.

The food relief charity will use its $ 19,000 Feed Appeal grant to purchase the equipment and cook hot, nourishing meals for those in need.

“This is such a blessing. We will have the capacity to double our production of meals to support our community,” program co- ordinator Cheryl Jones said.

“We have noticed an increase in need for food since COVID- 19 and it gives us great comfort to know that we now have more capacity to meet these needs.”

Ms Jones said the new oven would provide more opportunities to hold food preparation groups for the most vulnerable, teaching them about the value of good nutrition and how to manage a healthy lifestyle when they have limited income.

Heaven’s Kitchen provides a three- course meal for up to 110 people each week. During COVID- 19 restrictions the meals had to be delivered to homes, but now the charity’s dining room has reopened.

The Feed Appeal was cofounded by food relief charity FareShare and media group News Corp Australia, publisher of the Mercury.

This year it raised $ 1.5m and will grant 52 funds to community food relief organisations to help them purchase ovens, freezers, cool rooms, transport, and infrastructure to store, cook and share more meals.

Woolworths Devonport assistant store manager Jarrod Crowden congratulated Heaven’s Kitchen on their grant during a recent visit.

“Despite 2020 being a challenging year for all Australians, we’ve seen incredible generosity by Woolworths’ customers to help those experiencing hunger,” he said,

Woolworths kickstarted its support of the Feed Appeal in stores in July with a $ 100,000 donation.

News Corp Australia’s Community Ambassador Penny Fowler said: “We are delighted to support Feed Appeal again this year and hope that now, more than ever, we can make a difference and help feed struggling Australians.”

The Feed Appeal has raised $ 7.5m since it began in 2009.

See all the grant recipients at www. feedappeal. org. au