The Woy Woy Community Food Pantry has become a beacon of hope for the community while also revitalising the local church.
The pantry, which was established by the Woy Woy Seventh-day Adventist Church on the Central Coast of New South Wales, provides affordable food packages for people who are struggling. Supported by SecondBite, the pantry offers fresh fruit, vegetables, frozen meat and toiletries. For those unable to attend in person, the packages are assembled and delivered to them.
Previously operating fortnightly on a Friday, the pantry is now open weekly, feeding around 100 clients per week. Due to overwhelming demand, the church recently extended the service to Thursday evenings to cater for those unable to attend during the daytime.
“We have 12 volunteers at present—all are from the local community,” Woy Woy church pastor Michael Parker shared. “It was the volunteers who said we need to have something happening on a Thursday night as well. They’re loving it and are looking to expand all the time.”
Pastor Parker explained that many in the community have been facing hardship since the pandemic. “We found that there are quite a lot of people who were struggling during and after COVID and had found themselves between jobs and the government payments just weren’t keeping up,” he said. “A lot of people found themselves completely destitute and with no money.”
The church’s outreach has not only supported the community but also revitalised the church. When Pastor Parker was appointed four years ago, the church had dwindled to around 20 members and faced the prospect of closure.
“I had a choice—am I going to close this church down or are we going to do something radical? We chose the latter, and the church is known by everyone in the area now because of the food pantry.”
As a result, they’ve seen former Adventists return to the church and the volunteers have been embraced as part of the church community.
“The exciting thing for us is that the church is starting to grow because people are seeing what we are doing and they’re coming into church and saying, ‘I want to belong to a group of people who are doing that’,” Pastor Parker said.
The church is also focusing on a range of other activities, including a weekly soup kitchen.
“We started a Friday night soup kitchen in the church so that people have a place to socialise and have a decent meal. That has grown, and it’s no longer soup, it’s a full-blown meal and we have 20 to 30 people coming every Friday night now,” Pastor Parker said.
The leftover food from the pantry goes towards fellowship lunches held every Sabbath after church, further strengthening community ties.
The church’s men’s group, once struggling with low attendance, has transformed into a vibrant Bible study group that welcomes the broader community. Each Tuesday night, they not only study the Bible but also share a meal. Similarly, the women’s Bible study group has also grown, attracting local women who are curious about the church and what Adventists believe.
The church is now looking to the future, with plans to expand its facilities to better serve the community. They aim to demolish the current building and create a new centre with a focus on community service. It will include a food pantry, mental health counselling services and a not-for-profit café where people can gather, relax and connect. However, the project is expected to cost more than $A2 million and they will be looking for support to make it a reality.
“We want to become a hub for health and not just handing out food but mental health, letting people know how to live healthily and how to manage on a budget and eat healthily,” Pastor Parker said.
