Joblink Plus and Foodbank NSW and ACT collaborated to deliver a free fresh produce pop-up for the people of Broken Hill on Wednesday morning.
Such was the overwhelming support of an initiative like this in the Silver City, in what was to be an allocated three-hour window of opportunity, most boxes and pallets were cleared within an hour.
“It went absolutely amazing. People were rocking up at 7.30am and it didn’t start until 8am. It was packed. We had ten tonnes on the truck, and it was all gone by 8.50am.
“I thought it would have been in dribs and drabs, but it all was very quick,” Joblink Plus Youth Consultant, Courtney Trenerry, told us.
“It’s all a learning curve. Everybody that came in and got some fruit and veg was appreciative, but I don’t really see what we could do different. I think we did fine.
Unfortunately, the people that couldn’t come, we could probably advertise a lot earlier, but that’s about it at the moment.”
While it might’ve been successful by way of providing residents with necessary groceries, the event however did leave a sour taste in some people’s mouths.
The Barrier Truth heard murmurings from the community as we approached the site around 9am with people being overheard saying “we should have been here before the gates opened.”
The Truth also witnessed others appearing to take advantage of the foodbank by loading multiple bags into the boot of their car.
“We can’t really be judgmental of who was coming and going and getting stuff because they could’ve been picking up things for other people that couldn’t make it. It was a community event,” Ms Trennery said.
“It wasn’t anybody that was eligible to get food or anything like that, it was for everybody.”
