Every Friday morning, Bennett Springs Centre Manager Jacenta Booth and educator Rita Green head down the road to Coles supermarket in Caversham to collect dozens of bags of bakery goods to offer to families’ whose children attend the centre.
Inspired by the ‘Feed it Forward’ initiative, where people come together to help others in need within their local community, Jacenta seized the opportunity to sign up to the SecondBite food rescue program, which partners with food manufacturers and retailers like Coles to save unsold food from landfill by instead distributing it to communities in need.
“Instead of their products being thrown out we can give it to our families, educators and the local community,” Jacenta said.
“Times are tough right now – with the cost of living going up, we wanted to find a way to help families at our centre as well as the local community.”
The idea to create a ‘food pantry corner’ at the centre was initiated by Bennett Springs cleaner Manoj, who began bringing in non-perishable food items as a way of giving back to families at the centre.
“Manoj is from Sri Lanka and he is passionate about giving back to the community and helping others,” Jacenta said.
“He wanted to help families at the centre so he started to bring in canned food from home, and from there it grew into a pantry corner where families could take food without judgement.”
The response from families was overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing their gratitude, and others even contributing to the pantry corner.
Jacenta said initiatives like this also taught children about compassion, being kind to others and the value of helping others during times of need.
“We really want to instil those values in the children about being generous and helping others who may not be as fortunate or are going through a difficult time,” she said.
“It also teaches them about the joy of giving and how to appreciate the little things in life, such as having a roof over our heads or food on the table.”
