Gift of Bread awarded Council grant to expand charitable operations

Thursday, 31 May 2018

The Gift of Bread group has been awarded $25,000 to purchase a new delivery van in the last round of Inner West Council grant funding.

The group supplies free bread to more than 120 organisations, which include boarding houses, nursing homes, community groups, special schools, churches, outreach programs, Indigenous welfare organisations and the disadvantaged.

Gift of Bread has established outreach centres in Marrickville, Erskineville, Balmain and Lewisham and collects bread (including gluten-free options) from local bakeries such as Bakers Delight, Sonoma, Shepherd’s, Baalbek Bakery and Brooklyn Boy Bagels.

As a result of their hard work and dedication, Gift of Bread gathers and distributes around 5,000 loaves a day, which works out to be more than 130,000 kilograms of bread every year.

“Council provided $25,000 under the Stronger Communities Grant so Gift of Bread can expand its charitable work,” said Inner West Mayor Darcy Byrne.

“It was one of the largest grants handed out by Council and we are proud to support an organisation that is helping those most in need.

“We know from experience that sometimes the best solutions to the problems from our engaged and diverse Inner West community. So I encourage more residents to come forward with their ideas and apply for a Council grant.

“We are always looking at ways to support new initiatives that would benefit our communities,” he said.

Council’s grants program for 2018/19 opens on Thursday 7 June, and Inner West community groups are urged to apply for funding up to $50,000 for projects that improve and enhance local communities.

Inner West Council’s Stronger Communities Grants Program is part of the NSW Government’s Stronger Communities Fund, with $1 million to be spent on community grants in the council area.

Council is also providing grants and in-kind assistance of up to $7,500 in the form of Community Grants, Arts and Culture Grants, Local History Grants, Environment Grants, and Recreation Grants.

Grant applications close on Monday 16 July.

For more information, visit www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/community/get-involved/grants.

For further information please contact John Roper on 9392 5914.