A network that delivers the goods

Larry and Wayne are unloading $700 worth of vegies, John is ready with his knife to chop the produce and Liz is in the kitchen helping prepare lunch for the dozen or so other volunteers after they have packed the 154 boxes arranged on tables around the room. Meanwhile, Phil is carefully filling small green gift bags with cherries as something special for Christmas.

Apart from a festive atmosphere, it's an ordinary Tuesday at the Redfern headquarters of an extraordinary organisation - the Food Distribution Network (FDN).

For 25 years the group has delivered boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables to about 250 frail, older people, people with disabilities and people living with HIV/AIDS. It is funded partly by a grant from the Federal Government and partly by the $9 clients pay for each box. Last year, more than 12,000 boxes were delivered throughout the inner city.

"What we are about is helping people eat properly," says FDN co-ordinator John Geerligs. "If we didn't provide this service, a lot of the people we deal with would be eating more junk food."

Larry Wellings has worked at FDN since 1995, both as a volunteer and an employee. On shopping days he is at Flemington markets in the refrigerated truck by 5am. There he tries to get the best deal on the freshest produce for the clients. Wellings knows many of the growers and agents and he says most of them recognise the work FDN does and try to give him a good price.

"I try to create fresh food that people will be inspired by to help them put more fresh food into their diets," he says. "It's a cliche, I know, but if you consume fresh food then you can be a bit more alive to the world."

Once Wellings has his load on board, he drives to Redfern and the waiting volunteers, who pack it into boxes in a well-practised routine before the truck sets off again, this time with Wayne Lindeman at the wheel, to do the delivery run.

If that was all FDN did, it would be impressive enough. But a bare description of the process doesn't come even close to capturing the extraordinarily positive atmosphere and sense of fun the volunteers create as they work. The boxes almost resemble colourful works of art by the time they are ready to go. Several of the helpers have their own health problems, mental and physical, but as FDN president Louise Fox says: "Everyone belongs. It doesn't matter what your abilities are - we'll find a spot for you."

For the clients, too, many of whom are virtually housebound, the service means much more than a weekly delivery of fresh produce.

Fiona Hall has been an FDN client for a couple of years and finds the service invaluable.

"I've had multiple sclerosis for about 28 years now … and it's not as easy to get out and about," she says. "I like to eat well and sometimes the energy to go out and shop is not here. This arrives every week and it's absolutely beautiful."

And more than that, Hall says, "the boys" who deliver the produce always have a smile and time for a chat.

"We are funded to deliver boxes but we do far more," Geerligs says. "We check how our clients are going. We unpack the fruit and veg if they can't do it themselves and put it in the fridge or fruit bowls. We talk about what they might do with the food and maybe give them a recipe."

As well as the main delivery runs, Wellings does a smaller run, funded by several AIDS charities, delivering produce to about 20 people living with HIV/AIDS.

Once again, he brings much more than fresh food to these clients' doorsteps.

"I try to engage and enthuse people about the fresh produce and listen to their issues and problems as well," he says. "I can also offer them a referral to other services if that's what they want."

Occasionally the clients might not even know what to do with a particular fruit or vegetable, which is where he can offer some friendly advice.

"There's a whole swag of people with HIV who have grown up and lived an adult life where skills around fresh food and cooking were not a high priority," he says. "It's so much more than coming in with a box of produce. It's not just a Woolies or a Coles delivery. It's about making contact with people who in many cases are extremely isolated. It's a very low-key way to keep in touch with people who may be lost to the broader community. It makes them feel part of something."

Knock knock, fruit 'n' veg!
Slideshow: Each day, dedicated volunteers at Sydney's Food Distribution Network pack and deliver over a hundred boxes of fresh fruit and vegetables to people in need.

Food Distribution Network, see www.fdn.org.au

Source: www.smh.com.au/news/entertainment/good-living/a-network-that-delivers-the-goods/2009/12/21/1261243841132.html