Hannah Hammoud
Queues for food relief are no longer an unfamiliar sight in the local community.
But for local restaurant owners Peter and Thuy Le, it was simply too hard for them to look away.
Peter Le walked past the Duke Street Community House (DSCH) in Braybrook and witnessed first-hand just how high the demand for food relief is in the community.
Struck by the need, Mr Le approached the DSCH to enquire about how he could help.
Since mid-February, Mr Le and his wife Thuy have opened up their restaurant in Sunshine, Dai Loc Quan, and arrive at 5am every Wednesday to prepare 100 hot meals for donation to the DSCH.
The restaurant’s contribution has been nothing short of generous, providing fresh meals to those facing food insecurity in the community. Each week, without fail, Dai Loc Quan delivers these meals to the DSCH for distribution to those in need.
Mrs Le said she gives back to the community as a thank-you for the support she received herself as a newly arrived Vietnamese immigrant in 1999.
“This is just a small thing we do for the community, it is nothing big, but know that it is a lot for some people,” she said.
“We want to say a big thank-you to Australians because we are from another country and they supported us when we were younger. We think we can say thank-you now because we have a business and we want to help people in the community as well.”
The DSCH offers the food relief service with a postcode restriction, accessible to locals living in the 3020, 3019 and 3012 postcodes through a ‘market-style’ service.
DSCH program coordinator Rajdeep Kang said the support from Mr and Mrs Le has made a significant difference in the lives of those facing hunger and food insecurity in the community.
“Many people come by and say they want to donate but often not many of them return,” Ms Kang said.
“We have 100 community members access the food relief market every week, these meals allow them to access restaurant quality meals that otherwise they would not be able to afford. As the cost of living rises, ready to eat meals provide our clients with the comfort of not having to worry about putting food on the table for the day.
In February, the DSCH told Star Weekly that it was operating its food relief program without funding and said demand was in excess of what they could provide to the community.
“The lack of funding for this program means that we have to rely on local donations to keep this program going. These meals are delivered to our door every Wednesday, which makes a huge difference as lack of funding means we do not have the resources to organise pickups,” Ms Kang said.
