The right to adequate food and the right to be free from hunger stems from article 25.1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which outlines the right to a minimum standard of living.

“The right to food is not charity, it is a human right.”

** Please note we have exhausted local, state and federal funding options, there is no money available there****

The Frank Konecny Community Centre is a not-for-profit organisation, incorporated association and licensed charity that has serviced the community for 30 years.

In March 2020 when the COVID lockdowns first appeared the Centre staff were approached initially by non-Australian residents that had lost their jobs, who were not allowed to go home, some had already lost their homes or rentals and they needed assistance with food and emergency relief. This was followed by a stream of Australian residents who found themselves in the same financial distress as Centrelink had a backlog of 6-8 weeks before a payment could be made and the services that provided emergency relief had either closed or required a health care card which these people would not receive until they had received a payment.

The Centre restructured staff roles and made contact with food charities to start the partnerships that are still going strong today to try and help as many community members as we could in their time of crisis. We have managed to source a majority of the food and emergency relief for free, via recycling programs and the generosity of individual members of the community. This in turn reduces landfill and is environmentally friendly.

In July 2020 staff were overwhelmed that we supported 867 participant interactions with emergency relief that month, by July 2021 that monthly number was 5289 supported with food and crisis relief, and by July 2022 that monthly number had risen again to 6637. January 2022-December 2022 we provided emergency relief to 92,804 participant interactions. Since November 2022 our monthly figures have not dropped below 8500 participant interactions.

As a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic staff endeavoured to meet the large identified community need for emergency relief services without any additional funding. Unfortunately, with the cost of living rising and the need increasing we are no longer able to maintain the community needs without additional funding. Between January-December 2022 we provided emergency relief to 92,804 participant interactions.

The Centre believes in giving our community a hand up not a handout to empower them with support, kindness and dignity to improve their personal circumstances. Many that enter our Centre for Emergency Relief often leave with referrals and information on other organisations that can help them with their additional needs. We are the only local non-religious emergency relief service and believe that hardship does not discriminate. We do not do service provision based on gender, race, religion or ethnicity, everyone is welcome.

With the rising cost of living (including electricity), Insurance (especially volunteer insurance, ours has tripled due to the number of volunteers needed) the rise in superannuation including contractors now receiving superannuation, the extra workload on staff with the rising numbers of people accessing help and in crisis, emptying trucks, hauling and rotating the stock, handing out the emergency relief, managing and training the volunteers, we are struggling to sustain not just the current workload but also the prospect of the future workload. Staff are now doing sometimes double the number of hours they are being paid for per week for free. Staff members doing up to 60 hours a week is not sustainable long term. The funding we require is operational, as such majority of grants do not give more than 10% of operational costs.

We are a Neighborhood Community Centre managed by a community board for the benefit of all. That maintains a safe, all-inclusive, nonjudgmental welcoming environment. We offer and change services based on evolving community needs that enable individuals to access services that may not otherwise be readily available, these include upskilling, encouraging good mental health, strengthening community development, reducing social isolation, supporting parents, families and individuals to overcome their life barriers and build stronger futures. For this service, we get funded, however for the Emergency relief services we do not receive any funding.

For us to continue to provide the service we have been, as well as much-needed additional mental and emotional health support we desperately need additional funding.

Our service delivery model has proven successful over the past three years, but without additional funding may prove unsustainable. Failure to source additional funding by Mid-March will result in Emergency Relief Services being shut down.

We are more than happy to provide our Service Delivery Model or Business Proposal should it be requested.

“The right to food is not charity, it is a human right.”

Please help us to continue to provide this much-needed service to the community, please share this appeal to your social media and any businesses you feel may be able to help or donate if you can.

For more information please email us at [email redacted].au