Liverpool: Community Cafe Outreach Service’s plea to remain open over winter

A community outreach service providing 23,000 families in south west Sydney with free pantry staples and hot meals could soon close, leaving thousands hungry during the tough winter months.

Volunteers at the Community Cafe Outreach Service in Sadlier.

When Kirsty Parkes opened her outreach service during Covid lockdowns giving out free loaves of bread at the end of her driveway, only a handful of families would gather outside her home.

Now, more than 150 people line up from five am every morning outside the dedicated food pantry at Sadlier in south west Sydney for free produce, meals and pantry staples or their only hot meal for the day.

But mounting bills upwards of $20,000 have sparked fears the Community Cafe Outreach Service’s doors could close by Friday.

“We provide the community with a vital service and if we close people won’t eat and won’t have access to free food … our area is in a crisis that has been overlooked for far too long,” Mrs Parkes said.

Founder of Community Cafe Outreach Service Kirsty Parkes (left).

“We need to be accessible within the 2168 postcode as that’s where the need is greatest,” Mrs Parkes said.

The mother of seven said close to $9,000 in electricity, close to $3,000 in van repairs to collect food for families and thousands of dollars in mounting petrol costs could see the service close – despite Cabravale Diggers covering their rental bills.

“We are all volunteers, we are not getting paid, and I don't have an income now I can use to float things,” Mrs Parkes said.

She said the pantry service was crucial to feeding hundreds of families in Liverpool, especially during the winter months.

“We have teens sleeping on the floor with blankets, families are opening their oven doors for heating, they are living without basic essentials and we’re able to provide them with a hot meal or fresh food,” she said.

Volunteers at the Community Cafe Outreach Service in Sadlier.

“We try to restore dignity, pride, value and worth and while our currency isn’t money it’s manners and kindness as that’s what people can afford.”

One of the pantry’s volunteers, said she would be “six feet under” without Kirsty’s help is Sue Munko who is also fighting to keep the service open.

“If it wasn’t for the cafe I would be six foot under and that’s how bad it was for me,” she said.

Ms Munko, who volunteers at the pantry three days a week, said the service has not only helped her but hundreds of others get back on their feet.

“The unaffordability of food is the biggest issue as a lot of the people who come to us are pensioners or people living with disabilities,” she said.

Hot meals prepared by the outreach service.

“Once they pay their rent they only have $30 left to supposedly buy fresh meat and vegetables which is impossible … the poverty line at Miller is incredible.”

Volunteer and president of the events committee Tracey Lynch, said the potential closure of the pantry would be “devastating” to the community.

“They’re not just feeding people’s bellies, they’re feeding their souls,” she said.

“If it (Community Cafe Outreach Service) gets taken away I don’t know where people will go … there’s nowhere else and Kirsty doesn’t ask for a cent.”

Kirsty Parkes said while Liverpool council has been a “great help” over the years, any additional financial support would “go a long way”.

“I don’t want to see this go down, we’re going to keep fighting,” she said.