Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Foodbank Executive Officer Peter Chandler says people are in need more than ever as the cost of living soars in Darwin

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Foodbank Executive Officer Peter Chandler says people are in need more than ever as the cost of living soars in Darwin · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The cost of living. It's having a massive impact on
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: so many around the Northern Territory at the moment, and
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: I've no doubt that the services of food Bank have
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  Speaker 1: well and truly been required. Now joining me on the
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  Speaker 1: line is Peter Chandler, the Food Bank executive officer here
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  Speaker 1: in the territory. Good morning to you, Peter.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning Katie. How are you doing that?
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  Speaker 1: Not too bad, Peter, I know it's been it's been
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: pretty tough for a lot of people when it comes
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: to the cost of living at the moment. Petrol prices
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  Speaker 1: well and truly on the rise. The cost of food
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  Speaker 1: seems to be absolutely astronomical. What impact is that having
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  Speaker 1: on you, guys.
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  Speaker 2: Katie has been massive and it's kind of it started
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  Speaker 2: with COVID and of course we had a lot of
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  Speaker 2: people we termed the working poor that come in that
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  Speaker 2: you had their hours cut and so forth, and we
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  Speaker 2: really haven't seen it fall back since that time. In fact,
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  Speaker 2: in recent days with even more people come in, particularly
• 1:00
  Speaker 2: on our Saturday mornings now that we've got the warehouse opened,
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  Speaker 2: and you know, there can be as much as a
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  Speaker 2: ton and a half of food that goes out of
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  Speaker 2: the warehouse of a Saturday morning just to help people
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  Speaker 2: out and it is just you know, it's affecting everyone.
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  Speaker 2: And you know, I put my hat off to you
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  Speaker 2: in particular, particularly one four point nine. How you guys
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  Speaker 2: help us around Christmas, that's amazing. But food bank needs
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  Speaker 2: help all year because people are hungry all year.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, there is no doubt about that. And as you've
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  Speaker 1: touched on, you know people that are working that are
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  Speaker 1: trying their best to put food on the table, but
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  Speaker 1: it is it's hard. Peter. Has there been a big
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  Speaker 1: sort of boost in the demand for food bank services
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  Speaker 1: over recent months, Yeah, there has.
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  Speaker 2: Been, Katie, and not only just in the general community,
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  Speaker 2: but our indigenous communities have reached out for help. You
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  Speaker 2: sending food down to what I recently. All of those
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  Speaker 2: things have an impact on the food that we have
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  Speaker 2: in our warehouse. And you know, on the back of
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  Speaker 2: COVID then we have the transport issues. We're only now
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  Speaker 2: seeing good supplies of food coming back into our warehouse
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  Speaker 2: from South Australia. But it really has had an impact
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  Speaker 2: impact on what we can do. And the sad thing
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  Speaker 2: is that food Bank, as I said, it needs help
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  Speaker 2: all year round. And one of the hardest things to
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  Speaker 2: do in this gig is to reach out and ask
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  Speaker 2: for help. And you know, if territories want to help
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  Speaker 2: us to help others, I can only do that by
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: asking for their support, and you know through yourself in
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  Speaker 2: your radio station putting out a request for people to
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  Speaker 2: help us help territories.
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  Speaker 1: So is that what you need right now? I know
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  Speaker 1: that you have a lot on at different times when
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  Speaker 1: it comes to those fundraising drives and when it comes
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  Speaker 1: to you know, to trying to get that food on
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  Speaker 1: the plates of those who need it. But is that
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  Speaker 1: what you need at the moment? Peter?
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, because look we not everything in our warehouse is
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  Speaker 2: donated food. Quite often we need to buy food in
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  Speaker 2: so having those cash resources really helps us do what
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  Speaker 2: we do. We can get access to food at very
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  Speaker 2: cheap prices through Food Bank Australia, getting it shipped up here,
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  Speaker 2: we buy it locally through met cash and others. But
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  Speaker 2: the reality is you need the funds to be able
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  Speaker 2: to do that. So if Territorians can help us, we
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  Speaker 2: can help more territorians. So what have you got on.
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  Speaker 1: At the moment in terms of that fundraising and you
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  Speaker 1: really trying to get as much as you can.
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  Speaker 2: We're even singing for our sup Okay. We have a
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  Speaker 2: small group that go around and we will sing a
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  Speaker 2: few tunes for people, and we'll even shut up if
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  Speaker 2: people will pay us. But we'll do anything. We've got
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  Speaker 2: a golf day coming up, Corporate Golf DAYE and that's
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  Speaker 2: the Public Service Corporate Golf Day, which is at the
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  Speaker 2: DA and Golf Club on Friday the tenth. That's an
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  Speaker 2: amazing event for us. Our first one was last year
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  Speaker 2: and I think this will be bigger and better this year.
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  Speaker 2: Those kind of events that take a lot of work.
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  Speaker 2: People like Paul Wyatt who just they work their rings
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  Speaker 2: off and putting these events together. You know what it's
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  Speaker 2: like in that events and fundraising area. But they work
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  Speaker 2: their rings off. But every dollar counts because we can
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  Speaker 2: turn that into real meals to feed it a hungry
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  Speaker 2: child or a mum and a dad who are struggling
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  Speaker 2: at the moment. That's the part that I love so
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  Speaker 2: much about this job. But I can't do it without
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  Speaker 2: other people helping us.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, do you have any idea at the moment sort
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  Speaker 1: of you know how many people you are helping a week,
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  Speaker 1: or how many meals you're providing at the moment, Peter.
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  Speaker 2: Anywhere between forty five and fifty thousand meals a month
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  Speaker 2: agoing out of the warehouse. Now don't have the latest figures,
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  Speaker 2: but since we've been opening Saturday mornings, as I said,
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  Speaker 2: we can see you know, a ton and a half
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  Speaker 2: a thood going out just of a Saturday morning in
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  Speaker 2: a few hours that we open. And to be honest,
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  Speaker 2: I think we're only scratching the surface. And what worries
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  Speaker 2: me significantly is what's to come with interest rates going up,
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: with a price of food, fuel, all those things that
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  Speaker 2: transport costs go up, food needs to go up. All
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  Speaker 2: of those things happen, and you know, the thing is
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  Speaker 2: that wages don't go up and people are less struggling.
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  Speaker 2: And that's look. Food bank is there as the last resort,
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  Speaker 2: I suppose. But at the end of the day, how
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  Speaker 2: many people can we help? And without the resources, you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's near impossible to help everyone.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Peter, Now, if there is somebody listening this morning
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  Speaker 1: who's thinking to themselves, you know, I've wound up in
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  Speaker 1: a really tough spot. I need a bit of a
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  Speaker 1: hand up. Firstly, how can they get in contact or
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  Speaker 1: how can they come and see food bank in that instance.
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  Speaker 2: Well, look they can call anytime. Our number is eight
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  Speaker 2: nine four seven three double six ' nine. Our warehouses
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  Speaker 2: at nine mil Road at in Berrima. And of course
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  Speaker 2: we've got our food to Life program that operates in
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  Speaker 2: daw in Palmerston. How it Springs company do and we
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: go down as far as Bachelor. Look we've got a
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  Speaker 2: truck that goes down to Katherine every month, we go
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  Speaker 2: out to Jabaru. We send food most places across the
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  Speaker 2: Northern Territory and you know it's a big job, but
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  Speaker 2: I think we're still only scratching the surface and what's
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  Speaker 2: to come. You know, who knows we're just again we
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  Speaker 2: put out our request for those and being blunt, we're
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  Speaker 2: only one charity. There's heaps of good causes out there.
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  Speaker 2: Everyone is asking for help. It's not an easy thing
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  Speaker 2: to do, and particularly when we know territory into struggling
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  Speaker 2: and you know what the business world ain't do on
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  Speaker 2: that well either. So we're asking those people that are
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  Speaker 2: also struggling to give us a hand and that's a
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  Speaker 2: hard ask sometimes.
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  Speaker 1: But Peter, if there is somebody out there listening this morning,
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  Speaker 1: who's thinking to themselves do you know what I'm going
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  Speaker 1: all right at the moment, I actually can afford to
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  Speaker 1: make a donation, or I can afford to drop some
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  Speaker 1: food off. How can they do that?
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  Speaker 2: Well, if they can drop the food off to nine
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  Speaker 2: mil road Erema, that would be excellent. If they've got
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: a little bit of extra cash, they can either again
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  Speaker 2: ring that number that I just quoted, or they can
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  Speaker 2: go onto our website. If they go on the website,
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  Speaker 2: now I would really ask them. Up the very top,
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  Speaker 2: there's a little area that talks about the NT versus
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  Speaker 2: South Australia Victoria. You must click on the NT because
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  Speaker 2: I hate to think the Territorian's money goes to Victoria
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  Speaker 2: or New South Wales, not the food. Thanks down there
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  Speaker 2: don't do a tremendous job, but let's keep territorians money
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  Speaker 2: in the territory.
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  Speaker 1: I one hundred percent agree with that. Peter Chandler, it
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  Speaker 1: is always great to speak with you. I know that
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  Speaker 1: you guys are working incredibly hard, and quite frankly, we
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  Speaker 1: just don't hear people say on the radio enough that
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  Speaker 1: you're working your rings off, but we know that you are, mate.
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  Speaker 1: We know you're working incredibly hard, and I love that honesty.
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  Speaker 1: So thank you so much for having a chat with
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  Speaker 1: us this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, and again thank you to you unto one
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  Speaker 2: oh four point nine. You guys do an excellent job.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you anytime.
• 7:58
  Speaker 2: Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: That is pettere Chandler there, the chief executive of Food
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  Speaker 1: Bank here in the Northern Territory. They work so bloody hard,
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  Speaker 1: there is no doubt about that, and they do so
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  Speaker 1: much to help Territorians with a hand up when they
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  Speaker 1: really need it. So if you are able to make
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  Speaker 1: a donation, if you are able to make a food donation,
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  Speaker 1: or if you're out there listening and you do need
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  Speaker 1: a hand up, they are a great bunch of people
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  Speaker 1: out there at food Bank and are always happy to
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  Speaker 1: help Territorians in need.