The Manji Pantry is a vital lifeline for the Manjimup community in Western Australia.
Run by the Manjimup Seventh-day Adventist church, the pantry has been providing the local community with quality food at affordable prices as well as food hampers since November 2019. On weeks the pantry doesn’t open, volunteers personally deliver food hampers to the most vulnerable. They are also on call for emergencies such as domestic violence situations.
For pantry organiser and church pastor Ross Craig this is a deeply personal mission, having experienced the harsh reality of homelessness himself while living in inner city Brisbane.
“Upon arriving in Manjimup, it did not take long to recognise that there were people in food distress,” he said.
“After being a homeless drug addict who quite literally ate food from bins, I knew what I was seeing and that there was something that could be done.
“I would sometimes go to a local food charity. I spoke with some local church members about the possibility of the church doing something similar as I had benefited from the food charity.”
Operating every second and fourth Thursdays of the month, the pantry has more than 400 registered clients. However, over the five years the pantry has been operating, it is estimated more than 500 people have received their aid.
“On more than one occasion I’ve been stopped in the street or supermarket and thanked for what our church has done for the community,” Pastor Craig said.
“Being told by people around the town that ‘it’s good to see practical Christianity in action’ nearly brings tears to my eyes. To have an elderly, homeless man step into your path while walking down the main street and have him announce at full voice ‘you’re the guy from that church that cares’ makes it all worthwhile.
“Some of our volunteers were once clients and, praise the Lord, some of our church members were once volunteers who were once clients.”
The pantry provides food to another church for a soup kitchen, as well as bread and other items for a men’s breakfast, and food hampers for local school chaplains and principals for families in need. Food is also donated to the church’s annual “Pancakes in the Park” breakfast on Christmas morning. This is a free breakfast in the main tourist park in Manjimup for those without anyone to celebrate Christmas with. Volunteers now see more than 100 people attending, with many being international workers from local orchards.
In conjunction with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the pantry also assists in the running of an op-shop, providing clothing, bedding, tents and backpack beds for the homeless.
Earlier this month, the Manji Pantry received a state government grant of $A67,000 from the Community Small Grants Fund to go towards a new van.
“Up until the arrival of the van we would have up to six volunteers on the road at dawn to drive in three private vehicles the 250km round trip to Bunbury twice a month,” Pastor Craig said.
The new van will reduce wear on personal vehicles and will help bring more attention to the pantry. With Manjimup being an area prone to bushfires, the van will also be used in times of disaster, delivering aid to evacuation centres. Further, it will assist in transporting donated produce from local farmers and orchards.
The pantry’s work in Manjimup has been honoured, being nominated for a Citizen of the Year Award in 2021 by the Australia Day Council of Western Australia.
According to Pastor Craig, the support from the community has been overwhelming. The local Rotary club donates $1000 every season to help cover the cost of the food hampers given away and the Warren District Women’s Hockey club recently donated about $500 worth of food plus $800 cash. Other supporters include the local Uniting Church which donated $6000 cash, the local Community Resource Centre which donated two cash registers and the Manjimup LJ Hooker office which donated a massive freezer.
The pantry was also approached by the Manjimup Cherry Harmony Festival committee to host a breakfast event to launch the week-long festival. This led to the start of the Very Cherry Brekkie which is now in its third year of running.
Pastor Craig said running the pantry has been a wonderful affirmation of God’s call on his life.
“While I was tied up in the drug, motorcycle, criminal world I didn’t stop believing in God, I just didn’t like Him very much because He was ‘standing by and watching my life go down the ‘toilet’,” he said. “But now I get it; I could not be more amazed with Him and thankful that, although it was dark and numerous times death was staring me in the face either by my own hand or someone else’s, Jesus was right there with me.
“Everything I’d been through has now been ‘handy’ as I’m able to not just recognise but really get where some of our clients are. The expressions on their faces when they realise I’m not offering some platitude but actually understand and empathise, make it all worthwhile.”
Kiera Bridcutt is an intern at Adventist Record.
