feeding homeless ppl, melbourne

[coin]

anyone know of projects dedicated to feeding homeless people in melbourne or victoria?

i remember maybe six months ago, a story on the ABC about a guy, a businessman (fairly affluent?), who was doing this, totally self-funded because this gave him more freedom, not being held under particular regulations etc ... can anyone remind me who this guy was?

thanks

[Adrian]

Jeff Gambin of JUST ENOUGH FAITH ?

Ledgend!

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EARTHPOD is currently raising funds to to carry out such projects.

Trying to set a foundation for a self-funded, self suffient (ie produce all food and most energy) to help the people in need.

EARTHPOD's front page will be updated shortly and more information will be given.

Things are moving fairly slowly ATM to ensure that a solid foundation is created.

[coin]

Thanks Adrian..!!

that was too easy hehe

i was unsure, but thought he was working in vic for some reason...anyway

hmmm i'll be sure to keep an eye on earthpod in future

[This message has been edited by coin (edited 04 February 2002).]

[rkundalini]

There is some guy who goes around the hot bread shops after closing and collects all the unsold bread for homeless people... or at least I'm told that's what he does. (I have seen him but not spoken to him.)

[Adrian]

Re RK:

Less than a week ago I saw a mother and son loading a station wagon up with bread rolls from a bakery chain-store.

It was more bread than a normal sized family could have consumed (without an industrial feezer).

Interesting, cause there are few farms around and not many duck ponds.

Either way, I've heard of legislation being passed banning consumption of any "left overs" for humans or animals.

I worked at a hospital kitchen for a while and was told I could eat as much un-eaten, unserved food as I like, but I'd loose my job in a flash if walked away with any.

That really cut me up (being paid to eat), especially when I walked back to the train station and saw elderly people picking food from bins (opposite the pokies).

IMHO, so what if a few people have been sick from 'recycled food' I'm sure they'd get more sympathy than starving alone on the street.

Cooking kills germs anyway, grrrrr.

Anarobic digesters, compost....no F'ing landfill.

[Torsten]

the recent foot and mouth outbreak in the UK was caused by feeding scraps. not a good way to go I think.

[peas-pipe]

Adrian:

I worked at a hospital kitchen for a while and was told I could eat as much un-eaten, unserved food as I like, but I'd loose my job in a flash if walked away with any.

I think you'll find its a legal thing, something like where the hospital kitchen could be held liable for damages sustained from stale food, how could you prove it wasn't stale if it was 'left over'.

<soapbox>

Some business', Woolworth's in WA, being one that go by the philosophy that, 'if they know they can get it for free, then why would they buy any at all', and therefore forego any kind donations to the needy and or homeless. So in the end at least 6 piled-high trolley loads of bread go straight to a tamper proof bin, from each store.

</soapbox>

[This message has been edited by peas-pipe (edited 05 February 2002).]

[Adrian]

Definatly a legal issue.

The food we ate was 30seconds past being offered to hospital staff or patients.

Sometimes it would have been possible to get it home to the family quicker than it reaching some of the patients in the top floors.

I just think that considerations (alternative/ solutions) would have stood in the way of a privatised hospital's profit margin.

After all providing health care is all about being able to put bread on your families table, and maybe a brand new car

If they were to invite people to the back of the hospital to consume freshly served food and someone got sick, at least they would'nt be far from medical attention and at worst the mortuary was in a convinient location just across the hall from the kitchen (nah, the food's not really that bad).

The day will come when caring will conquer law practice.

[peas-pipe]

Adrian:

The day will come when caring will conquer law practice.

Yay! ... It would be nice to see people who could make such decisions without their hands tied. It would make me happy at least, and I'm not even hungry

[Guest VENDEJO]

Hi ... I used to work for St Vincent's De Paul handing out bread and soup to homeless guys for about 9 months. It's called the Matthew Talbot Soup Van run and it's pretty well organised and has been running for years.

A lot of diff people do it from housewives to even a couple of lawyers doing it. St V's even pay for your First Aid training with St John's ambulance.

It's in a community health building next to the commission flats in Ken. If you want the exact address I can e-mail it to u.

A little charity goes a LONG way.

[Darklight]

Originally posted by VENDEJO:

A little charity goes a LONG way.

Nice to hear other ppl here getting benefit from doing voluntary work. As far as I'm concerned unpaid hours working on community projects are at least as valuable a social committment as paid hours in traditional employment ( and often more so )

Any more experiences to share here? In addition to the work many ppl put in free into the EB field, it reinforces the notion I have that the forum communities contitute a diverse, stable and positively contributing force which extends well beyond out own immediate interests. And it combats the 'useless druggies sitting round watching telly doing nothing' myth which the media loves to spin.