THE motto ‘people who care helping people in need’ is more than just words for the volunteers from the Shoalhaven Community Food Stores.
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The group, like many other organisations, wants to help farmers who are battling to make ends meet because of the drought.
They want to offer farmers as much support as they can by giving them food hampers and financial assistance.
Food Bank, a grocery supplier, gave the group groceries to help the farmers in the Shoalhaven/South Coast area.
The Australian Mercy’s Shoalhaven Community Food Stores is also contributing groceries to the hampers.
Food store coordinator, Helen Esdaile, said they simply want to help people in need.
“It’s all so people who are doing it tough on the land can benefit from the collection,” she said.
She said at the end of the day they just want to give people a bit of support.
“That is the motto of our charity. We are called Australian Mercy and our motto is ‘people who care helping people in need’,” she said.
“We are here to help people in need.”
Mrs Esdaile said other agencies are helping the farmers out west and so they can focus on helping local farmers.
“We have tried to make the hampers up with the things people use in their day to day pantry life,” she said.
The hampers have things like breakfast cereals, tinned fruit, tea, sugar, biscuits and more.
“They are mostly well-known brands,” Mrs Esdaile said.
Items may vary depending on stock.
Mrs Esdaile said it was concerning to hear about a local farmer calling for donations of grass clipping because he did not have the fodder to give to his stock.
“We are also going to be able to make relatively small but significant cash donations to farmers who are struggling at the moment,” she said.
She added to get access to the food and financial support they should have to contact the group.
“We would be delighted to be able to help out,” she said.
Farmers can go out to the food store at South Nowra behind the Building World complex or call 0429 460 730 or the shop’s landline during business hours 4423 2334.
All they ask is for people to have a photo id with an address.
Mrs Esdaile said whatever they talked about would be confidential.
“We want the farmers to feel perfectly comfortable in their relationship with us,” she said.
The food store coordinator added the farmers could talk to her and she would come up with a way to help.
They are open Tuesday to Friday but after the October Long Weekend will be open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 3.30pm.
They will be helping until their stocks run out.