TUCKER TIME: Mark Burian, Maggie Frawley, Ian Gilbertons, Linda Anderson, Steve Sweeney and Diane Clark help prepare food for the Vinnies Van.
TIMES may be tough for some, but a new service will help by providing free meals one night a week.
An initiative of the Catholic Education Office and the St Vincent de Paul Society, the Vinnies Van has been providing food to the needy in Wollongong three nights per week for the past 12 months.
Last week the service expanded to include an extra night in Wollongong each week, as well as a night in Nowra.
“Every housing forum I have ever been to, the availability of meals for the needy has always come up,” said manager of John Purcell House for homeless men, Steve Sweeney, as he helped prepare meals in the kitchen at St John the Evangelist High School.
“A few church groups do the occasional meal, but there has been a push to do something more consistent.”
The Vinnies Van is offering a free sandwich and hot or cold drink to anyone who needs it.
“It’s not necessarily for the homeless, but for people doing it tough interest rate wise, unemployed or just finding it a challenge to survive,” Mr Sweeney said.
Aside from the free food, there will also be free advice about access to other services for the needy.
The van is available on Tuesday nights at Parramatta Park in East Nowra from 5.30pm to 6.20pm and in front of the DOCS building in Graham Street, Nowra from 6.30pm to 7.20pm.
