Northern beaches: Community to help feed jobless hospitality workers
A bar owner on the northern beaches has come up with a way to support local restaurants and cafes while providing free meals for hospitality workers who have just lost their jobs.
Manly
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A bar owner on the northern beaches has set up a GoFundMe site to help feed desperate out-of-work hospitality workers.
Matt Clifton, owner of Donny’s and The Cumberland bars in Manly, said money will go towards supporting local businesses while also providing food for hospitality workers who have lost their jobs.
Pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants were ordered by the government to shut down yesterday in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Takeaways are still allowed and some businesses that were previously sit-in only have started to offer a takeout or delivery service to try and stay afloat.
Inevitably many casual workers have been let go.
On Monday more than a hundred people were queuing outside Centrelink in Brookvale after finding themselves jobless as the economic impact of the pandemic began to bite.
Mr Clifton said in just one day last week he received 42 resumes with people saying they didn’t know how they were going to pay for food, let alone rent.
“We want to support the people who have supported us for so long,” he said.
“They’re like family.
“Some of the guys have been saying they don’t know how they’re going to feed themselves or put a roof over their heads.”
Mr Clifton said a number of local businesses have got behind the idea and will make meals and then deliver them to out-of-work hospitality workers.
He said each worker who applies will go through a check system to make sure they were working in the industry and have lost their job.
So far more than $1800 has been raised.
Manly MP James Griffin said it was a really smart initiative.
“It will do two things, help stimulate the local economy while supporting those in our community experiencing hardship as a result of the virus outbreak,” he said.
To donate go to gofundme.com/f/feeding-our-hospo-community