‘So grateful’: Taree, Wingham flood victims receive $50,000 Foodbank donation

Two truckfuls of emergency hampers, fresh fruit, vegetables and bread arrived in the disaster-stricken Mid North Coast towns on Thursday. See the pictures.

Foodbank delivers $50,000 worth of food and supplies, donated by The Daily Telegraph, in Taree. Picture: Scott Calvin

Tonnes of fresh produce and hundreds of bread loaves have been trucked into Taree and Wingham and delivered into the grateful hands of flood victims following The Daily and Sunday Telegraphs’ $50,000 Foodbank donation.

The donation helped cover the cost of six tonnes of fruit and vegetables from the Sydney markets, 200 loaves of bread, and 300 emergency hampers containing pantry staples like tinned food, pasta, rice, UHT milk, bottled water and baby formula.

Two truckfuls arrived in the disaster-stricken Mid North Coast towns on Thursday.

There, at Faith Family Church in Taree, local volunteers unloaded the crateloads of sweet potatoes, apples, pears, pumpkins and lettuces, divvying them up and distributing them among 30 families who dropped in to pick up much-needed supplies from the community pantry.

Wrangling the team of 15 volunteers was Tinonee resident Debbie Burham, who said the donations had brought many to tears.

The supplied, donated by The Daily Telegraph, will be used to stock a local community pantry in Taree for flood victims. (Left to right) Volunteers Mick Brooks, Debbie Burham and Lyn Iverson from Global Care. Picture: Scott Calvin

“A lot of people were crying. It’s shattering, what these families have been through – they’ve lost everything,” she said.

Some residents have been unable to afford electrical repairs, she said, causing the food in their fridges to spoil.

Global Care volunteers Arzia Williamson and Mick Brooks unload a pallet of lettuces delivered by Foodbank on Thursday morning. Picture: Scott Calvin

“Taree’s quite a poor town … a lot of people don’t have $300 to pay an electrician to fix their power,” Ms Burham said.

“What we can give them is a little boost.”

Colin Inness and his mother-in-law Christine were among those picking up fresh fruit, vegetables and essential toiletries after being forced to relocate to a vacant property in town.

Their farmhouse and land on Jones Island had been completely subsumed by the three surrounding waterways – the Manning River, Lansdowne River and Ghinni Ghinni creek – forcing the family to be airlifted to safety at the height of the disaster a fortnight ago.

Colin Inness and his mother-in-law Christine, from Jones Island. Picture: Supplied

“Hypothermia had set in on my mother-in-law, we had her on the kitchen table and we were wrapping as many dry towels around her as we could find,” he said.

“By the time we were airlifted out you couldn’t even see a single speck of land on Jones Island – it had become part of the Manning River.”

Mr Inness and wife Victoria returned to a “horrific” scene at the farmhouse, finding three of the family’s four beloved miniature horses deceased. His two children, aged 10 and 13, have been left “traumatised”.

He now spends his days hosing down whatever can be extricated from the ruins and salvaged, and the exhausted couple have little time or energy to do grocery shopping, making them “so grateful” for the Foodbank supplies.

Sebastian and Kelly Williamson from GlobalCare cart in a trolley full of beverages. Picture: Scott Calvin

“It’s helped immensely, because at the moment getting the time to actually go and buy that stuff is hard. The premade hampers mean we’ve got one less thing to worry about,” he said.

The Telegraphs donated $50,000 to Foodbank through our News In The Community Emergency Relief Fund, and will continue to support NSW’s flood-affected communities.

“Our crews on the ground covering this disaster have made it clear we all to do something to help out,’’ The Daily Telegraph editor Ben English said.

“From our city view it’s easy to forget that not everyone in our state has the same access to government and corporate support.

“That’s why I’m delighted we can make this contribution to help those most in need.’’

Foodbank NSW & ACT chief executive John Robertson said the donation “makes a big difference” with other donors from the business community now also coming forward offering to help out.

“There’s a significant cost in buying the produce, fuelling up the truck and putting it on the road,” he said.

“But the appreciation that you see (from flood victims), you can’t put a price on.”

Originally published as ‘So grateful’: Taree, Wingham flood victims receive $50,000 Foodbank donation