Food for Good: Addison Road Community Organisation

Addison Road Community Organisation has been the beating heart of Sydney’s Inner West for nearly 50 years – standing with and supporting the people who need it most through outreach initiatives such as its Marrickville and Camperdown food pantries, the former of which celebrated a decade of operation in September.

The pantries are open to anyone seeking low-cost groceries, offering a dignified alternative (as well as free bread and produce with every purchase) during the cost-of-living-crisis. Up to 8500 people visit each week.

Volunteers and Addison Road chief executive officer Rosanna Barbero work with supermarkets to stock the pantry, salvaging more than 475,000 kilograms of food each year that would otherwise go to waste, putting together seasonal food hampers, hosting instructive monthly cook-ups in Camperdown, and cooking free meals for Wednesday Night Lights – a weekly night market in Marrickville presented with local businesses and other social enterprises, where people can gather for dinner and dessert and access various free support services like health checks, yoga classes, legal aid, laundry and haircuts.