St Andrew's by the Sea

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:28): Here in parliament today, I take the opportunity to speak about one of the very valuable organisations in Morphett, St Andrew's by the Sea, which is led by the Reverend Christine Gilbert on Jetty Road at Glenelg. I will talk a little bit about the challenges they have faced because of this coronavirus pandemic and the adaptations they have had to make to continue supporting those in need in the Morphett community.

The volunteers at St Andrew's by the Sea have for many years run some very valuable programs in our community: the community aid program, the Friendship Cafe and Mary's Kitchen, which I have spoken about previously in parliament. These programs are supported by some of the very worthy and valuable local traders on Jetty Road, businesses such as Bakers Delight, Coles, Bendigo Bank and Caruso's Fresh Foods. They provide food, vegetables and vouchers to St Andrew's by the Sea, which can then be used and given to those in need.

Sadly, the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions that have been put in place around social gathering and also the ability to serve food inside have caused those programs to have to cease. These restrictions came in in late March, when St Andrew's by the Sea had to put out a lot of their fresh fruit and vegetables. I think they had about 80 bags' worth of those and a trolley's worth of bread that they had to put out quickly to get rid of it. That was supported by the local community, in terms of allowing them to give to those in need.

Mary's Kitchen, which is a really valuable service, previously used to run on Tuesday nights to provide warm meals to roughly 50 individuals who were experiencing homelessness. They would provide soup, sausages and basic food but, more than just food, they provided a sympathetic ear as well. At the conclusion of the night's service, they provided some care packages, using the fresh food and vegetables I spoke about previously.

Thankfully, I can report that, while those services had to close, St Andrew's have been able to be classified as an essential service because of their valuable service. This has allowed them to create programs which, while being different in terms of how they are delivered, still have the same intent. They still provide an emergency relief service that operates three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, between noon and 2.30, when they offer some fresh food, non-perishable items, bread and chemist vouchers.

To support this, one of our fantastic Rotary clubs, the Rotary Club of Holdfast Bay, organised a campaign to collect food and other goods for those in need, and they did this in conjunction with Brighton Foodland. They set up outside a shopping centre there, and many shoppers took the time to purchase some additional items and donate them to the food campaign. That allowed over $5,000 worth of goods to be donated to St Andrew's by the Sea and put into the emergency relief packages. So I thank the Rotary Club of Holdfast Bay.

Other groups that have historically and traditionally supported St Andrew's by the Sea are the local school just next door, St Mary's Memorial School, the Rotary Club of Glenelg and the Lions Club of Edwardstown. In addition to this emergency relief package, St Andrew's by the Sea have also been able to transition their Tuesday nights at Mary's Kitchen into 'soup in a cup' nights, serving hot food from 6 o'clock to 7.30. The unfortunate consequence of the coronavirus is that it goes after the more susceptible in our community, the vulnerable and the over 70s.

Unfortunately, most of the volunteers at Mary's Kitchen were in this age bracket, other than the very worthy Lisa McGrath and Avril Noy, who are to be commended for their support. They invited me and my wife, Tammy, to come along one night and butter the bread, put the soup on and put lasagne in the oven to allow food still to be served in what was a takeaway service. The homeless would knock on the church door, say they were coming and then go around the back and be given the food. I end by saying thank you for that terrific service to our community in Morphett.