Woolworths joins forces with FareShare to help makes tens of thousands of meals for the needy
Chefs who were stood down due to the coronavirus hospitality shutdown are back on the payroll and pumping out more than 80,000 meals a week to help those most in need.
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Out-of-work chefs have been put back on the payroll and are pumping out more than 80,000 meals a week to help those most in need.
Nearly 80 qualified chefs have been toiling around the clock to make top-notch meals including casseroles, ragus, tagines, sausage rolls and meat and vegetable dishes at charity kitchen FareShare in Melbourne and Brisbane.
ALH head chef Dale Payne was recently temporarily stood down from his job at a Melbourne hotel and is back working at FareShare in Abbotsford, helping push out thousands of meals a day.
“When our licensed venue shut your heart just drops and there’s a lot of concern if there’s work, then we got called to team up with FareShare which is a great opportunity,” he said.
“We’ve been able to prepare meals for people in need at this special time.”
FareShare had more than 1500 volunteers but for health and safety reasons during the COVID-19 outbreak they were forced to suspend their services and switch to a team of paid staff.
The workers at FareShare are being paid by Woolworths which majority owns the Endeavour Group that ALH is a part of.
FareShare’s chief executive officer Marcus Godinho said many volunteers were anxious during the pandemic but under the new changes they could rest easy knowing meals were still being prepared.
“We have fewer people coming through the kitchen and it’s a much safer way for us to be operating at this time and there’s less risk,” he said.
“It also means we can scale up how much we are cooking.”
Woolworths chief executive officer Brad Banducci said teaming up with FareShare was a great result for the community.
“We know how essential their services are to the vulnerable in the community particularly right now when many Australians are living with daily uncertainty,” he said.