The soaring cost of living has driven record demand for our emergency food relief services during the month of April.
Skyrocketing food prices have had a dramatic impact on the poor and working-poor. So much so that an increasing number of them can no longer afford to put food on the table.
In the month of April a total of 40,150 free meals were distributed to the poor. This is a record high, up 53% on pre-pandemic levels.
Moreover, during the four-day Easter period The Rev. Bill Crews Foundation gave 6,398 free meals to Sydneysiders who would otherwise have gone without. That amounts to almost 1,600 meals per day – more than at any time in our 36 year history.
Demand has been increasingly driven by those living in western Sydney - often the working poor. The people we see in these locations typically have no cash reserves to help cushion the impact of rising food prices.
To prepare the meals for them, each day The Rev. Bill Crews Foundation uses 200kg of meat and 150kg vegetables.
As well as providing additional emergency food distribution locations, we have been forced to enlarge our kitchen facilities.
Our industrial kitchen already turned out hundreds of thousands of meals every year, but now it needs enlarging and renovation to meet the growing demand.
Skyrocketing food prices have had a dramatic impact on the poor and working-poor. So much so that an increasing number of them can no longer afford to put food on the table.
Record number of meals served
In the month of April a total of 40,150 free meals were distributed to the poor. This is a record high, up 53% on pre-pandemic levels.
Moreover, during the four-day Easter period The Rev. Bill Crews Foundation gave 6,398 free meals to Sydneysiders who would otherwise have gone without. That amounts to almost 1,600 meals per day – more than at any time in our 36 year history.
Demand increasing
Demand has been increasingly driven by those living in western Sydney - often the working poor. The people we see in these locations typically have no cash reserves to help cushion the impact of rising food prices.
To prepare the meals for them, each day The Rev. Bill Crews Foundation uses 200kg of meat and 150kg vegetables.
As well as providing additional emergency food distribution locations, we have been forced to enlarge our kitchen facilities.
Our industrial kitchen already turned out hundreds of thousands of meals every year, but now it needs enlarging and renovation to meet the growing demand.
