About Us
Our Beginnings
The Sapphire Community Pantry came out of an idea and an observation. The founders, Christine Welsh and Peter Buggy, who had retired to the Bega Valley in 2013, started up a branch of OzHarvest, the food rescue charity.
From supermarkets and other food businesses they rescued fruit, vegetables and bread, and delivered these items to charities such as the Salvation Army, Womens Resource Centre, Mission Australia and the Little Yuin Aboriginal Preschool. This activity still continues, but the supply is always erratic as it depends upon the food businesses having leftovers.
They found that the people using these charities needed more than rescued fruit and vegetables. They needed staples such as tinned foods, tea, coffee, cereal, cleaning items, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper and other items. But they needed them at a price they could afford.
Peter and Christine researched community pantries, visiting five in NSW and the ACT, talking to others via phone and email, and looking at “best practice” via internet searches. After gathering as much information as possible, they created a business and communication plan. They spoke to community groups, they called meetings to set up a steering committee, and they sought start-up funding and a location.
Many generous people and groups came forward to offer seed funding. The Southern Women’s Group offered to auspice the Pantry so that it could access charitable benefits and use the services of FoodBank to purchase stock. The Salvation Army in Bega offered a space in their thrift store. And in September 2017 we opened. On our first trading day we had over 100 customers. It soon became apparent there was a need for the Pantry and that larger space was needed as well as more trading days.
In April 2018 the Pantry moved to its current location, 2 Peden Street, Bega, NSW Australia.
Our Team
We have a team of volunteers and paid staff doing big things.
We have two part-time paid staff members – Mandi Rush, our Manager, who works Tuesdays through to Fridays. Mandi is the person to speak to about volunteering, donations and just about anything else relating to our day-to-day operations. Mandi was born in the Bega Valley and her family have been local to the area for many generations.
We also have our Pantry coordinator, Cath Evangelista who assists with the day to day runnings of the Pantry. Cath works Tuesday through Friday also. Cath has lived in the Bega Valley for 20 years.
Our Volunteers
Our volunteers come from all walks of life and we can never get enough of them! During crisis times, like the recent bushfires and COVID-19 it has been important to stick together as a community, and this is when our volunteers really step up. We love them and couldn’t do what we do without them.
If you would like to lend a hand, please get in touch.
For general inquiries and questions we suggest you visit our CONTACT US page and follow the prompts there. Or ring the Pantry mobile on 0490 843 518 and ask to speak to one of the team listed here.
