‘Food in the Park’ is a service responding to the food insecurity experienced by East Newman residents.
Supported by BHP, in collaboration with Newman Women’s Shelter and Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa, the project has provided 4,475 meals to adults and 1,835 meals to young people since the program began in June 2023.
Meals are also delivered to residents’ homes, which the local community welcomed as a valuable part of the service.
The project partners agreed to implement a short-term, action research project to provide regular nutritious meals to the local community that were cool in summer and warm in winter.
Highlighting both the depth of food insecurity and the growth of the project, an average of 30 meals per session were distributed in June 2023—this figure has risen to around 100 meals per session in 2024.
‘Food in the Park’ provides meals from Miners’ Promise Park on Monday and Wednesday nights, with additional meals delivered directly to some community members on the same nights.
As the project continues to grow, partners are identifying ways to make food more accessible to reach even more members of East Newman experiencing food insecurity.
“In the winter months, we’ll transition from cold meals to hot meals,” said Karen Mulipola from Newman Women’s Shelter. Compass Group ESS is the primary food provider for the project. The chefs at Warrawandu supply delicious, nutritious food alongside Foodbuy supplier, Bunzl, who provide the takeaway containers.
“Compass is an enthusiastic partner and is always looking at ways of improving the project even further,” Karen said. The need for food relief was underscored by the impact food insecurity can have on physical, mental, and social health, particularly in young people. It’s also recognised that the availability, price, and distance to food outlets in regional and remote areas can make it harder to access food.
“It’s good because sometimes we can’t get these meals,” one community member said. “It’s good for families to spend time together and have a meal with kids’ games,” said another.
Big thanks to Compass and Foodbuy for supporting this important initiative.
Keen to serve your community through distributing meals?
We’re on the lookout for community members willing to be part of ‘Food in the Park’ through being part of a roster to deliver meals. We’re also looking for businesses that have food to donate. If that’s you, we’d love to talk!
Call Newman Women’s Shelter on 0475 377 711 to chat about working together!