Food Insecurity
Bonny Downs Community Association adapted many of its services including providing emergency food and essentials to help the community through the crisis. The Food Hub assisted over 3889 people between April and June 2020, up from 622 for months Jan- March, an increase of 625%. Many of those attending were in desperate need, many had no recourse to public funds. We wanted to hear their stories and consider their needs for future services. We spoke to people queueing for the Food Bank about Voices for Change, and worked with the Food Bank and Fuel Bank team to hand information to each visitor. This included a pre-addressed envelope enclosing a paper version of the questionnaire plus an explanatory letter in simple English. From this group we received nearly 40 responses and were able to follow up with more detailed interviews with 4 people.
For some, food insecurity had been very intense.
When asked what positive things have taken place during the pandemic a number of people spoke highly of the BDCA foodbank,
Many are conscious of the social economic factors in our community,
Among suggestions, some respondents suggested a more culturally appropriate food offer. A few suggested that the food provided should remain free to those in need