6 days ago
Help feed the hungry
The rising cost of living and increasing unemployment rate have left many struggling to afford basic necessities like food.
An empathetic group of women have formed the South Coast Food Drive, which operates from Umtentweni to Hibberdene, basically the Bendigo area.
Jenni Beatti from Hibberdene, Sandra Hammond from Sunwich Port, Maggi Sloan from Southport, Alida Lucas from Banana Beach and Memory Grace from Ifafa work together to help those in need – pensioners and households with children.
'It's impossible to feed the large number of people out there who need help. There is a never-ending need. There are few jobs available, and people move from the city to the South Coast, where there are even fewer opportunities,' said Memory.
Memory said they basically collect whatever the public donates and share it out among people who are financially stressed.
'Our target is to assist those who can't afford to pay rent and buy food. It's not the homeless people…we try to prevent them from becoming homeless. We assist with food, clothes, and anything else we receive.'
Here are their roles explained:
* Food Drive
Maggie has moved from Sea Park to Southport. However, she refuses to give up on assisting the Sea Park and Umtentweni community, so she will carry on with that. She's also taken on the Southport/Sunwich Port area, which means she's assisting from Melville to Umtentweni.
Maggie hands out food parcels to families every second week, where possible, in Sea Park, and once a month in Sunwich Port, depending on how much she receives. She feeds about 93 people and needs non-perishables, vegetables and toiletries for her food parcels. Contact her on 060 9365320.
* Soup Troopers
Some more good news is that Alida has volunteered to assist Maggie going forward. Alida makes soup for her Melville community twice a month. She will supply Maggie with soup for the Sunwich Port area. Till now, Alida has been providing the soup at her own cost. She is a pensioner, but can't sit idle. Alida needs support with soup ingredients. Contact her on 082 2989547.
* Clothes Drive
Sandra runs the clothes drive in Sunwich Port, and forwards money she receives for clothes to the food drive. She is always on the look out for clothing and shoes for children and adults (smaller sizes). Contact Sandra on 072 9929473.
* South Coast Charity Auction
To try to raise funds, Memory started the SC Charity Auction where she takes a commission on goods sold, which also goes towards assisting the community.
If the food drive is given something, which people on their list don't need, it is put on an online auction on WhatsApp. Contact Memory on 072 7611736
The Melville Sanctuary of Love will host a birthday picnic for the Bendigo Flower Kids for about 56 children from 33 families on Saturday, June 7. There will be presents, games and food. Any donations, toys and food are welcome, so they can start the day with homemade soup followed by sweets and cake, and then each family takes home a tub of vegetable breyani. If you can help, contact Di on 081 0492435.
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