A not-for-profit organisation working with vulnerable members of the community will launch its own food van thanks to a grant from the NSW Nationals in the state government.
NSW Nationals Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders announced today $50,000 from the Community Building Partnerships program had been allocated to Orana Support Service to fund the much-needed project.
“I’ve seen first-hand the amazing work done by Orana Support Service, including the Meals On The Main program, which I mentioned in Parliament earlier this year,” Mr Saunders said.
“By the time the pandemic hit, the program had moved to a local park to accommodate all the people who were seeking a substantial meal.
“COVID has played havoc with this initiative and forced the team to change the way they do things, but a food van means they can be mobile, and able to reach more members of our community who are doing it tough.
“Good government is about helping people who need it the most and I’m very proud to have been able to facilitate this funding.”
Orana Support Service chief executive officer Tina Reynolds said the food van is the next step forward for her organisation.
“We’re funded to provide help to people in Wellington and Narromine, as well as Dubbo, so the van will allow us to travel to those towns and run similar programs to Meals On The Main,” Mrs Reynolds said.
“Since things changed due to the pandemic, we’ve been supplying food hampers for people but we’re hopeful we can return to providing hearty meals for people in the new year in a COVID-safe manner.
“The funding gives us the certainty to start searching for the van that best suits our needs, and we want to get it as soon as possible so we can start reaching out to more people and providing help to those that need it.”
