Addison Road Community Organisation want to thank the team at Vic on the Park Hotel for being such big supporters of our work. Over the last year, Vic on the Park have been running raffles and building up donations for our food security and food rescue program.
Currently Addi Road’s Food Pantry is rescuing 1.8 tonnes of perfectly good food a week that otherwise would be wasted in landfill. As well as preventing waste and doing the environment a favour, our Food Pantry is serving over 750 customers a week, around three quarters of whom are shopping for households and families. We conservatively estimate we are helping to feed around 2000 people every week in Sydney’s Inner West. Need and demand have grown so much we’ve expanded Addi Road’s Food Pantry premises, increasing our shelving, replacing an old fridge, and adding another day to our operating hours.
Alex Smith, the Manager for Vic on the Park Hotel, told us, “We love what the Food Pantry does at Addi Road. Because of what we do at Vic on Park, avoiding food waste is at the forefront of our minds all the time – on a business level, and on an individual level too. It’s also important to us that everyone in our community can put food on their table. We thought if there was any way to support Addison Road Community Organisation’s food rescue and food security program we should do it. It’s really connected to our values, to what we believe in.”
“We really love the vibe at Addi Road too. The people there are so passionate. And they make everyone so welcome.” Visiting Addi Road’s Food Pantry to see what was happening and meet staff and volunteers, Alex was impressed by the efficiency and the good will being generated. “Everyone is made to feel so welcome. That’s how I felt being there. I got that warm and fuzzy feeling when I left, that sense something good was happening. I really liked the way there was no judgement too. No one was asked to show a card or prove anything about being unemployed or poor. Anyone could come in and shop. It didn’t matter who you were.\
“I felt first-hand how personable everyone was at Addi Road’s Food Pantry, seeing your staff really talking to people and giving your customers someone to speak to in a human way. That seemed important to me – and a part of the whole community vibe. We aim to generate that welcome feeling too at Vic on the Park. A lot of people need that contact and communication as much as anything else. That’s what I mean when I say I feel we share the same values on a lot of levels. Anything we can do to help, we will.”
Cody, Alex, Ujwal, Rendy and Erick from Vic on Park Hotel, Marrickville. Photo by Mark Mordue.