Food for Christmas Appeal
With Christmas fast approaching and the cost of living still on the rise, Ashcroft’s Let’s Make Better charity and FoodCare Orange are partnering for a community campaign to help make the festive season a little brighter for those doing it tough.
Ashcroft’s IGA has kindly donated a raffle prize of a trolley full of groceries, with all the money raised going to help those in need this Christmas.
“So we are selling raffle tickets to win a trolley full of groceries, and we'll convert that money into IGA gift cards to give to FoodCare to pass on to their clients for Christmas,” Rochelle Ashcroft said.
Rochelle said to look out for FoodCare volunteers who will be selling the raffle tickets outside both IGA stores over the next two weeks.
You can also make donations of non-perishable food items in the cages as you exit the checkouts at either store.
All food donations and IGA Gift Cards will be handed over to FoodCare on December 11, to give people time to prepare for Christmas.
FoodCareOrange has been helping locals keep food on the table for the past ten years. Four days a week, they open the doors of their March Street supermarket offering people the chance to grab fresh and frozen foods, and household items for free or at a discounted rate.
But with the rising cost of living more people than ever before are seeking their help.
“I was looking at some figures back from when FoodCare was in Glenroi and we were actually only getting 50 or 60 people a week. There are days now, where we would get 50 or 60 and our average is around 180 to 200 a week. So clearly a lot more demand than it was,” FoodCare President Lee Cook said.
The community have been generous supporters of FoodCare, Lee said, which enables them to offer variety and choice to people when they come to shop.
But donations are always welcome, he added.
“One of the reasons we run the shop is that it gives people a choice. They can make their own choice about what they need. Whereas if you give people a box of goodies, they are not necessarily going to have what their family wants,” he said.
“We are collecting stuff for Christmas… We've already had some stuff from Cadia mine and from a private donor who's given us 10 lots of goodies and 10 lots of $75 Woolworths cards.
“So we are actually building up a bit of stock for people as we get a bit closer to Christmas — because we do shut down over Christmas, which is important for people to know.”
The final opening day for 2023 will be Friday, December 22, with FoodCare reopening on Tuesday, January 9, 2024.
FoodCare Orange is located at 142 March Street and opens every Tuesday to Friday morning from 10.30am to 1pm and Thursday afternoons from 4.30pm to 6pm.