On a particularly hard week, Zac was finding it difficult to make financial ends meet. He heard a rumour about free food at the local church across the road. “At first I was hesitant to go – I don’t like large crowds and I don’t want handouts,” Zac said. “But I needed a good feed.”
The “good feed” is provided by one1seven church, an Anglican church in Redfern positioned just across the road from three of the biggest public housing towers in the city. Food is supplied every Friday night by OzHarvest for between 40 and 60 tower residents. And the number is growing.
“When I turned up, it was really relaxed. There was music playing, people were chatting. There was milk and bread to take back home.” But for Zac, even more important than the food were the friendships he found. “In the last seven weeks I’ve been going to the one4food nights, I’ve got to know more people than I had in the last seven months.”
Standing on the other side of the serving tables is Shane Childs who also lived on the streets for over a year, but is now finding a way to help out in his community by serving food and coffee every Friday night. “The opportunity to connect with people in the community and give something back is a real blessing,” he said.
