The Australian Council of Social Service have come down to Addi Road today to set up a table outside our Food Pantry and encourage people to send a few Christmas cards to our politicians. It may not be a card they like to get. But every one them is certainly heartfelt, handwritten and true to the experience of everyday Australians dealing with unemployment, poverty and life on the proverbial breadline.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian visited Addi Road on Friday 6th November 2020 to see our food security and food rescue work in action.
Kate and Max have been coming to the Addi Road Food Pantry Marrickville “every week since it opened,” she says. Max looks up at his mum, a little sceptical about that claim. “I don’t remember coming when I was in kindy!”
By the time the day is finished, over 150 Latin American students will have come here seeking emergency food hampers. Despite its name, United for Columbia is becoming a broad communication point for students from all over Latin America who suddenly find themselves adrift and in need here in Sydney.
A report from behind the frontlines of unemployment and poverty in Australia, where Mark Mordue responds to a normal day at Addison Road Community Organisation’s Food Pantry.
Political language being used in Australia indicates we blame individuals for their sudden distress and poverty.
“Listening to you and some of these callers there’s a sense of dehumanisation about these experiences that is difficult to comprehend if you haven’t been through it.”
