Anti-Poverty Week
Anti-Poverty Week aims to strengthen public awareness and understanding of the causes and consequences of poverty in Australia and internationally. Poverty and severe hardship affect more than a million Australians and more than a billion people around the world are desperately poor. Anglicare NT is involved in several events this week that aim to raise awareness of poverty and hardship.
Mr Peter Fisher, CEO of Foodbank NT and Chair of Anti-Poverty Week NT, addressed a large gathering of Anglicare NT staff at a morning tea today. Staff heard about the profound work being done by Foodbank NT in Darwin and the very real poverty they are confronting weekly. According to Foodbank NT, 42,132 Northern Territorians experience food insecurity each year – around half of them are children. That’s one in every ten Territorians. Despite almost two decades of economic growth nearly a quarter of the population still live in low economic resource households and 10.9% live below the poverty line.
Foodbank rescues edible but surplus food and groceries from the country’s farmers, manufacturers and retailers. This includes product that is out of specification, close to date code, has incorrect labelling or damaged packaging as well as excess stock and deleted lines. Without Foodbank much of this food would simply go to landfill. Charities and schools collect the donated food and distribute it to adults and children in need as prepared meals, food hampers and emergency parcels. Last year alone, Foodbank NT provided enough food for 216,760 meals.
At the morning tea, Mr Fisher was presented with a cheque to support Foodbank NTs efforts. This donation demonstrates Anglicare NT’s commitment to supporting Foodbank and the important partnership a number of Anglicare NT programs have with Foodbank NT.
Anglicare NT ReStore op shops will also hold a clearance sale this week for Anti-Poverty Week. The sale will take place on Friday 16th October and Saturday 17th October. The op shops are located at 5 Nemarluk Drive, Ludmilla and Cnr Sabine and Trower Rd, Millner.
l-r Ian O’Reilly (Project Officer Anglicare NT), Peter Fisher (CEO Foodbank), Dave Pugh (CEO Anglicare NT)
