Food group feels the pinch as community needs rise

In just a few short years, the Margaret River Community Pantry has grown from a handful of dedicated volunteers to a busy group of more than 50 community members, local growers, businesses and young helpers.

Recently named a finalist for the Woolworths Community Group of the Year, as part of the 2023 Western Australian Community Achievement Awards, the Pantry works to redistribute food received from a number of sources, including supermarkets, small businesses, backyard growers, and local community groups.

Every week, donations are supplied to the community on a ”give what you can, receive what you need” premise, with patrons able to access food at whatever price they feel comfortable donating.

The Pantry’s Terri Sharpe said the most vulnerable community members are able to have a food bag set aside so they never miss out.

“They can also access our 24/7 onsite little free pantry, where donated dry goods are put and available to all the community every day of the year,” she said.

The pantry has redistributed over 40 tonnes of food in the last year, with 400 bags of food provided to the community in just the last month.

“We have also experienced phenomenal growth and demand for our services over the last twelve months, receiving 300kg of food distributed to 27 people in our first week, to now receiving over a ton of food distributed to over 100 people every week.”

Terri said despite a huge wave of support from the community and busy Friday Pantry Days demonstrating the effectiveness of the program, the Pantry continued to operate on a shoestring.

“We run entirely on money we raise ourselves via fundraisers, community donations, successful grant applications, or business donations,” she explained.

“So we have no permanency to our service, and it is this that we are really seeking.”

Terri said increased costs across the entire economy had inevitably begun to impact the Pantry.

“We have a pretty substantial power bill now, we have the Coordinator’s part time salary, we have insurance, we have on-going weekly costs. It all adds up,” she said.

Locals keen to support the Pantry through financial assistance can make donations directly to the Pantry, or make contact to discuss the group’s needs.

“As we are a registered charity, all business donations are tax deductible,” Terri said.

“You can also pay it forward by purchasing a $10 bag for someone who can’t afford it, which goes a long way to helping the cycle continue.”

To find out more about the Community Pantry, or to talk about how you can help, visit www.facebook.com/margaretrivercommunitypantry or www.margaretrivercommunitypantry.org.au