General News
13 July, 2023
Community pantry making a difference for families
From the front it looks like any other home. But behind the gates of number 6 Porter Avenue, Maryborough, a woman with little means herself is making a big difference to others. Barbara Stewart has been running Maryborough Community Pantry since the...
From the front it looks like any other home.
But behind the gates of number 6 Porter Avenue, Maryborough, a woman with little means herself is making a big difference to others.
Barbara Stewart has been running Maryborough Community Pantry since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
She collects food and grocery donations and distributes them to people in need.
Barbara said she now gets between 15 and 20 people a week coming to her home to access the community pantry.
She has a freezer at the front of her house, which people can come and take from as they need.
Inside her home she has a larger pantry, which people can message Barbara to access. Or, if she’s not going to be home she’ll make up a parcel and leave it at the front door for the person who requested it.
“I’m more [accessible] after hours and weekends, which people love, because I mostly have working people come through. They work obviously so they can’t go to the Salvos or Vinnies [during the day],” Barbara said.
“It’s really great helping people that need it. The pantry is pretty much my life now.
“I don’t ask for ID [identification]. I don’t ask for a story. I don’t need a reason for you to come here except that you need help. I don’t take names down.”
Barbara was inspired to start the pantry by the volunteer work her aunt and grandmother do.
“My aunty and grandmother were handing out food to the social housing high rise flats in Melbourne,” she said.
“They’ve been doing it for the last 16-17 years. So I was going backwards and forwards [to Melbourne] helping them do that.
“I wanted to do something like that up here and I didn’t know where to start.
“I came across a page called Feeding Families on Facebook and he does this and I noticed he was doing it from his house.
“So I messaged him. At first I had terrible anxiety, I told him I wanted to do this but I just couldn’t get it started because of my anxiety.
“Then eventually I beat the anxiety. He gave me some food [for the pantry] and I started putting up on Facebook and all the Maryborough community pages asking for donations.”
Barbara started the pantry with a few items and it has now grown to have regular donations from McCain Foods, community groups including Mill House Neighbourhood House, other community pantries as well as lots of individuals.
“The Salvation Army let me use their refrigerated truck (to pick up donations from McCain Foods),” Barbara said.
She shares these donations with The Salvation Army, other community pantries, Mill House Neighbourhood House and some schools.
Barbara said the need for the pantry is increasing.
“This year I’ve seen more people than I have any of the other years. I think with the price rise of everything, that’s just getting phenomenal,” she said.
Barbara is looking for work herself, but still manages to run the pantry to help others.
As well as keeping the pantry stocked and being available to welcome people who need something from it, Barbara does fundraisers including sausage sizzles and collecting and recycling cans and bottles.
The money she raises goes back into the pantry and towards an account she has set up at Maryborough Priceline Pharmacy to help people who don’t have enough money to cover the full cost of their medications.
Barbara said people wanting to access the pharmacy account can speak to the staff at Priceline.
“It’s to help with the cost so they still need to pay, it just covers if people are a bit short,” she said.
Her next goal is set up a similar account with a veterinarian for people to access.
If you want to support or access the Maryborough Community Pantry, find them on Facebook.