LOCAL LIFE
Make A Difference : One Meal Blacktown
by Lorna Gordon
Times are tough for everyone right now and making ends meet is a huge struggle for many people in the community . Thankfully there are people out there who are willing to give up their time to support families and people in need in our community by providing free meals , food , personal care packs and other living essentials .
One Meal in Blacktown has been showing up at Alpha Park on a Saturday at 4pm for the past six years , providing meals for the homeless , as well as food and grocery items , sleeping bags and blankets for people who need them . Joanne Oliver , the co-ordinator for Blacktown , doesn ’ t stop there , she goes that extra step for the people who need her help .
“ I have helped people get housed ; I have contacts in Blacktown and can refer people on for housing and I also act of behalf of some of our patrons to get them help with getting housing and furniture once they are housed .”
Going that extra mile saw Joanne not only be nominated for a Westfield Local Hero award last year , but winning her category . As part of being a winner , One Meal Blacktown was a given a $ 20 , 000 community grant to help make a difference in our local community . The money was put to good use as Joanne explained .
“ It was a great help , we needed to get fridges and freezers for our food donations , and I have a van to take everything we
The volunteers for One Meal make sure everyone is fed and looked after each Saturday .
need to our service , and it needs money for maintenance and upkeep . We also needed more tables and chairs to ensure all our patrons could sit down to enjoy their meals .”
As well as having dedicated volunteers for the community , Joanne has support from businesses like George ’ s Pizza who supplies food once a month , Hunter Hampers and The Bikers Hand to name a few of the organisations who regularly help out . There are also other charitable organisations who now go to Alpha Park on a Saturday to work beside One Meal to offer additional services .
“ We are proud to work side by side with Street Side Medics , which Doctor Daniel runs with fully qualified doctors and nurses being on site . They have a fully equipped medical van to help the people who are not comfortable sitting in a doctor ’ s waiting room for medical assistance .
“ Orange Sky is there each week - a mobile laundry and shower service , giving people who live in the park or are homeless access to clean clothes and a shower facility .”
Joanne works hard to ensure her patrons are well looked after and works tirelessly on a Friday and Saturday to
coordinate volunteers , pack food bags and get meals organised , but like many charitable organisations she is looking for more people to help out .
“ Ideally , I would like at least one other restaurant or food business to help us with meals to take the pressure off our volunteers having to cook melas from scratch . We also need people to help serve food or give out grocery items to the patrons when they visit us on a Saturday .” If you can give you time to help Joanne and One Meal you can email her on blacktown @ onemeal . org , au or at www . onemeal . org . au / blacktown .
BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 37 // APRIL 2024 11