Posted on June 22 2020
During this time we want to tell the stories of great South Australians who are working hard to make a difference in their communities. The following is a guest post from Eman Rahim, 2020 SA Local Hero Nominee and Founder of the Heart & Soul Group.
Heart & Soul Group exists to assist people doing it tough, with free (or low cost) food. We generally give out free fruit, veg & bakery products that have been donated from supermarkets & other food outlets.
Our Charity redistributes this food via Free Food Markets in 3 locations across Adelaide, Elizabeth, Morphettvale & Wingfield, servicing over 3000 individual people each & every week.
Our operations were required to cease once the Covid-19 pandemic began, forcing us to re-evaluate our processes & come up with a new way of redistributing the food. We created an online portal where attendees could access the free food by placing an order & having that delivered straight to their door. This worked very well for people who were required to self quarantine. Our home delivery service was & still is a very popular way for people to engage in our Charity, ensuring they are not left without essential foods during such uncertain times.
With the Covid-19 Pandemic, we noticed a steep increase in people accessing our services. As people began to lose their jobs, more & more people relied on our home delivery service to keep them afloat. Most of these people continue to place their orders through our online portal.
As of 2 weeks ago, we have been able to recommence our Free Food Markets, albeit with a twist. In addition to social distancing rules, we have moved the markets to day time, 12pm in all locations & moved premises in the southern districts from Hackham West to Morphettvale. Our fourth & final market commenced on the 13th of June in Christie Downs.
We have continued our home delivery service for those that are unable to attend the free food markets.
We look forward to maintaining both our home delivery & free food market services moving forward.
For more information about Eman and the Heart & Soul Group click here
Do you know someone who is doing work like Eman? Nominate them for the 2021 Australian of the Year Awards at australianoftheyear.org.au
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