IN an outstanding act of goodwill, Barrett’s Shoppe has donated pallets of frozen vegetable to Orange FoodCare to help mums such as Tammy Priest prepare nutritious meals for their families.
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On Tuesday Miss Priest joined other FoodCare clients to line up and buy one kilogram bags of frozen carrots, pees, corn and corn kernels at a fraction of the normal retail price.
Miss Priest welcomed Barrett’s vegetable donation and said she couldn’t wait to start cooking.
“My son’s four and he likes veggies and apples, but sometimes he’s had to go without or I’ve had to ask my grandmother for help,” Miss Priest said.
“I feel terrible but sometimes I’m only able to give him macaroni and cheese or spaghetti.”
Miss Priest said she was planning to make her son a big batch of vegetable soup.
“It’s very stressful worrying about food, I usually just stay home and whinge, but now I might be able to go out and not stress,” she said.
FoodCare’s James Karbowiak said while the charity provided its clients with a large range of food and personal items at reduced rates, they’ve only ever had a limited selection of vegetables on offer, so the deal with Barrett’s was exciting.
Barrett’s Brett Tanos said the company was pleased to support FoodCare and hoped the relationship between the two organisations would provide benefits for all involved.
“We got right on board and we really appreciate the service they do,” he said.
Mr Tanos said the FoodCare donation allowed Barrett’s to minimise waste by donating slow-selling items, which would otherwise have been sold at a discount rate or thrown away.
“It’s great to see it go to such a great cause,” Mr Tanos said.
“We’ve given them a freezer full and there’s pallets of stock there for them, this is ongoing.”
Mr Tanos said he was not surprised to hear FoodCare was flourishing in Orange.
“Some people struggle, and unemployment is on the rise,” he said.
The frozen food is being stored in a freezer donated by the Ever Upward Apostolic Centre.
Environmentally Concerned Citizens of Orange president Nick King hoped the community gardens project could also provide fresh vegetables for FoodCare clients in the future.
“We’ve been growing produce but haven’t had the appropriate outlet for it. It’s a great opportunity to promote locally-grown fresh food,” he said.
Mr Karbowiak said the charity had recently started receiving apples from Bonny Glen orchard, pears from Mastronardi’s orchard and vegetables from Jung-Chun Lai in Cowra.
His next plan was to try and find a meat supplier.
FoodCare is open every Tuesday from 9.30am to 12.30pm at the Glenroi Community Centre in Garema Road.
tracey.prisk@fairfaxmedia.com.au
