Store to nourish residents doing it tough
Those dealing with severe hardship or living on low incomes will be given help to afford simple items such as groceries when the Katanning Community Resource Centre opens the doors to the new Community Harvest project today.
After months of preparation and $75,000 in Lotterywest funding, the store will be run daily, providing donated food products including milk, bread, vegetables, cereals and pantry items to be sold by the kilogram to anyone on a Health Care Card or who can demonstrate hardship.
Katanning CRC manager Julie Bucknell said the project would prevent people from getting to the stage of needing food vouchers.
"There are always going to be people that slip through the cracks, but our aim is to make sure that people on low income can afford to buy groceries and save money," she said.
Ms Bucknell said the store was a local Foodbank agency, with people in the region previously having to travel to Albany to access the charity.
"We will capture residents from Gnowangerup, Tambellup to Kojonup, Katanning and Wagin, saving people valuable petrol and money," she said.
The initiative will also provide community projects and eating programs supported by Act- Belong-Commit and the Health Department to teach people how to shop, cook and eat healthy on a budget.
"It's not just helping people to get food because that doesn't create change - it's empowering people," Ms Bucknell said.
Located across the road from the Katanning CRC, the store will be run by volunteers from Monday to Friday from 9am until 1pm and 11 to noon on Friday for seniors only.
