Baptist Care SA opens first food hub in Adelaide CBD
Older people struggling to pay for groceries and everyday food items are among those benefiting from Adelaide’s first community food hub
Baptist Care SA has opened Adelaide’s first community food hub in the CBD. (Source: Baptist Care SA)
A joint initiative of Baptist Care SA and Foodbank SA, the hub will give people in need a place to shop for food and essential items at a reduced cost.
Located at 216 Wright Street, the Baptist Care Community Food Hub offers low-priced groceries to anyone with a concession card or Immi card, including pensioners, students and people experiencing homelessness.
Baptist Care SA Chief Executive Officer Graham Brown says the new food hub has been developed in direct response to community needs that were expressed in a survey undertaken by Baptist Care SA during 2017.
“We work closely with the local community, including many disadvantaged people in urgent need of help, and we’ve found the problem of food insecurity is skyrocketing,” Mr Brown says.
“Across Adelaide there is a growing number of people who simply don’t know where their next meal is coming from. It’s a huge problem.”
Mr Brown says over the past 12 months, more than four million Australians have found themselves in a situation where they’ve run out of food and haven’t been able to buy more.
“So to help tackle the problem, we’re really pleased to be able to open a new food hub in South Australia, particularly as it’s the first community food hub in the Adelaide CBD.
“The Baptist Care Community Food Hub will play a critical role in combating the growing prevalence of food insecurity across Adelaide.”
Mr Brown says the food hub, which Baptist Care SA owns and operates as a non-profit entity, is set to become a valuable part of its network of services and other much-needed practical supports for people on low incomes.
“There are tens of thousands of people across Adelaide who need help putting food on the table, but many feel uncomfortable about receiving handouts,” he says.
“The Baptist Care Community Food Hub provides a dignified way for people in the city to access food for their families, giving people on low incomes and the homeless somewhere to go to purchase groceries at a significantly reduced cost.”
The Baptist Care SA Community Food Hub will be managed by a Baptist Care SA staff member and a roster of 25 volunteers, who will source, supply and serve low-cost groceries to hundreds of people every week.
The Baptist Care Community Food Hub is open every week from Monday to Thursday from 10am-3pm. For more information phone 08 8118 5200.
