Warm meals, friendly faces.

Published

March 1, 2021

For over 30 years, people have come to Hartley’s Community Dining Room for a hearty meal. This vital service provides meals for those who couldn’t prepare or access food themselves.

Teamwork makes the dream work.

Sadly, Hartley’s was forced to temporarily close its dining room in March 2020 when COVID-19 hit. Thinking outside the box, the team were able to
find new ways to provide fresh food – and a friendly face – to those in need. All thanks to StreetSmart.

Founded by Adam Robinson in 2003, StreetSmart works to break down prejudices about people experiencing tough times. Coming to grips with the
issues facing our community, StreetSmart started cooking up ideas on how to get involved.

“Organisations were worried about food insecurity, with many food outlets for people experiencing homelessness closing their doors,” says Adam.

“We wanted to make an impact straight away.”

With many venues closing their doors due to COVID-19 restrictions, the StreetSmart team saw an opportunity. “We realised there were empty kitchens with people willing to cook, and other people who still needed to eat,” says Adam. “So we paired them up.”

StreetSmart connected the local venues to the Hartley’s kitchen, where they prepared meals for people who needed it most. “We just want
people to feel safe, supported and have access to food all year round,” says Adam.

Joining forces with StreetSmart, we now offer tasty, takeaway meals to people facing food insecurity – every day.

Meals Program Coordinator, Sara Loots says StreetSmart’s support – worth over $90,000 – was invaluable in keeping doors open. “It was a big relief for people who don’t know where their next meal will come from,” says Sara.

To keep bellies full – and spirits bright – over Christmas, StreetSmart gave an additional grant of $6,500 to the program. “We normally close for 2 weeks over Christmas,” says Sara, “but thanks to StreetSmart, we were able to keep supplying meals to people who rely on them.”

Our team at Hartley’s has served up meals to people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donate Now to support services like Hartley’s.

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