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Mobile Free Food Services Policy & Voluntary Accord

The provision of companionship, food and immediate material assistance to rough sleepers and other vulnerable groups by predominantly volunteer and faith based community groups is a tradition of long standing within the City of Sydney as it is in many other sites across Australia and overseas.  These services are embedded in a philosophy of compassion that aims to provide both sustenance and opportunities for human engagement to vulnerable people.

The groups that provide these services do so in response both to perceived need and the desire to give community members a chance to be involved in the provision of care and support to vulnerable people. Although rarely linked to formal service networks, they are an indelible part of the network of support available within the areas they operate.

There are at least 15 such groups operating within the City of Sydney’s Local Government Area (LGA), many of them travelling into the inner-city from out of area to minister to people within the inner-city.  Because most of the services operate after hours and or on weekends when many of the mainstream services are not available, they represent a particular opportunity to establish connections with vulnerable and at risk people who may not be connected to other supports and may need assistance to establish links with services that will assist them to exit homelessness or resolve other factors that place them at risk. 

However, many of these services operate at different times, sometimes at the same time, in the same area in the inner-city whilst vulnerable people in other areas of the inner-city receive no services from these groups at all.

The ‘Mobile Free Food Services Policy and Voluntary Accord’ aims to coordinate the activities of these many groups that are operating within in the City of Sydney’s LGA and to ensure that they are aware of each other. The aim of the Policy and Accord is to ensure that the activities of these groups are coordinated to meet need across the LGA not limited to certain geographic ‘hot spots’ and, that the services and their volunteers receive support to operate safely and responsibly in relation to ethical practice, local government by-laws and within relevant health regulations and that they are managing their impact on the public domain in a responsible manner. 

The Policy and Accord also aims to: expand the role and opportunity of those services by giving volunteers access to information that would enable them to offer information and assistance that might assist people to access the services they need to exit homelessness; link the services into the broader homelessness and related services network and; ensure that they are able to access relevant support and assistance from the City of Sydney such as through access to Community Grants, safety assessments in the areas where they operate and coordination with our waste and cleansing services.

To assist us with the coordination of services, distribution of relevant information and the provision of support the City asks current and newly established services to register information about the nature, time and location of their services. This information is shared with relevant council units; homelessness and related service providers; other food service operators and most importantly, with vulnerable people within the LGA to ensure that everyone who can benefit is able to access those services.

Operators who register will be included on a mailing list to receive relevant information and updates in relation to homelessness, grants opportunities, policy and service initiatives and will be invited to regular homelessness interagency meetings and meetings with other mobile operators to provide them with opportunities to network, share important information and receive support.

Mobile Free Food Policy and Voluntary Accord
The Council adopted the ‘Mobile Free Food Services Policy and Voluntary Accord’ in October 2007.  The City aims to collaborate with and offer support to the many organizations that provide food and companionship to people who are homeless and at risk of homelessness in the inner-city and to provide volunteers with access to information and the support they need to maximize upon opportunities to offer assistance to vulnerable people.

The Policy and Accord aims to foster communication and collaboration between providers, the City and other homelessness services and to also ensure that providers are managing their impact on the public domain in a responsible manner. The City requests existing and new providers to register their operations with the City of Sydney and to coordinate their efforts with other food providers already in operation to ensure equitable coverage across the city. See link below for maps and a list of mobile and static food services in the city.

If you would like to receive further information or would like to register a new service or change details regarding an existing service please contact the Homelessness Project Coordinator on 02 9265 9667.

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Please Note:
While care is taken to ensure accuracy, the City of Sydney cannot guarantee that information expressed here is correct and recommends that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use. The City of Sydney makes no warranty or undertaking, whether expressed or implied, nor does it assume any legal liability, whether direct or indirect.