Helping Aussies in Need

With the current ‘Cost of Living Crisis’ which many Aussies are facing at this time the Seventh- Day Adventist Church in Manjimup and a whole raft of volunteers over the last four years have set up the ‘Manji Pantry’ and the ADRA Op-Shop to help those in need.

The ‘Manji Pantry’ is open on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month between the times of 10am – 11.30am and is located in the church hall on Highfield Street in Manjimup.

Derek Robinson, one of the organisation’s volunteers explains how the operation works, “We have been delivering this aid now for just over four years, and of late the demand has been growing strongly.

“Through the ‘Second Bite’ program which is organised by Coles and being an agency for Foodbank with Woolworths we are able to give away certain items for free, items with a short shelve life like bread, cakes and certain vegetables.

“Other foods we stock we purchase from ‘Foodbank’ and we sell at kilogram prices, for example $1.60kg for most grocery lines, and so on, depending on the cost to us..

“Foodbank is in Bunbury so we have a need to travel up and back twice monthly to purchase the goods, to have the goods for sale. This usually requires up to six volunteers and three personal vehicles.

“With a ‘Native Forest Transition’ grant we are looking forward to being able to purchase a new vehicle which will reduce the wear and tear on personal vehicles and our personnel.

“Clients are asked to register with us, of which we now have around 280 and over 400 households in our database. The clients come from all the surrounding towns, as far as Boyup Brook, Northcliffe and even Donnybrook.

“On those Thursdays we are open, around 70 to 80 clients turn up at any one time. The numbers we help are greater than those who turn up, as most of our clients have family members, thus increasing the numbers of people we help.

“One very pleasing aspect we are seeing is those we have helped in the past, have now returned as volunteers.”

In the other area of the church grounds is the ADRA Op Shop. ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) is the official humanitarian agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church which covers Health, Livelihoods, Education and Disasters.

This Op Shop is run solely by volunteers and has been operating for around three and a half years. They have seen the demand grow for their services.

The Op Shop is open every Wednesday and Thursday from 10am to 4pm and compliments the Manji Pantry’s ‘Growing a Stronger Community’ ethos. Brenda Dawes is the spokesperson for this group and explains its operation, “We sell a huge range of items that will cater for all family members at very reasonable prices.

“Goods are donated and to date, the profit made has covered improvements to cater for our expanding needs.

“The Op Shop vision is to support community projects once the shop expansions are complete.”

On the day I visited the complex to witness what takes place on the open days, I can clearly state the need for this help is greater in our community than you could ever imagine. The wealth of our nation needs to be shared far more fairly and evenly to reduce the ever-increasing gap we see in Australia today between the haves and the have nots.