Hip Pocket Help at Hand

When the cost-of-living bites, how do you keep meals affordable and nutritious? And what help can be accessed in order to feed a family? 

Fortunately, these are issues being tackled head on by clubs across the state, much to the relief of many who know help is on their doorstep.

Now, clubs are being recognised for their innovative approaches to targeting hip pocket pain, with finalists announced in the 2025 Clubs & Community Awards.

Parra Leagues (in the Social Inclusion category) partnered with Dignity to supply critical food relief by volunteering and donating other resources to help people.

The Club cooked and distributed 3800 free and nutritious meals for those experiencing financial hardship with delicious roast dinners, lasagne and curries, plus other dishes on offer - clocking up 352 volunteer hours and a $45,600 contribution.

“Each meal was crafted with care and delivered to those in need, ensuring they did not have to choose between feeding their families and paying bills,” says Parra Leagues Community Manager Kylie Murphy.

Gosford RSL (in the Heart of the Community category) created Community Cash, a special currency which allows members to pay for goods and services at participating local businesses. 

Best of all, it keeps the money in the community, which helps local businesses such as Bag Habits, a popular handbag store.

“Whether for fuel at a local service station, gardening supplies from a nursery, travel bookings through a local agency, medicine or retail purchases, it directly supports small businesses and their owners,” says Gosford RSL Marketing Manager Sharon Hulston.

Club Central Hurstville (Social Inclusion) made a $40,000 contribution to Georges River Life Care Community, which collects surplus food from local businesses every two weeks and distributes it to those doing it tough via 120 pantry and 100 fresh food hampers.

“More recently, staff and volunteers have identified the soaring cost-of-living as having significant impact,” says Club Central Hurstville Marketing Executive Kylie Di Cesare.

“Many have not previously faced financial hardship and food insecurity.”

Ms Di Cesare said there had been a 400 per cent increase in demand for food hampers and support services since the program began, demonstrating the challenges being faced by so many.

A free barbecue lunch at the Club in February also matched food aid with social support and financial education.

Bankstown Sports (Healthcare) partnered with Eat Up to provide free sandwiches and snacks for students to help those experiencing hunger, which is one in five Australian children.

“Our region is on the lower end of the socio economic spectrum and we know families have really been doing it tough in the current cost-of-living crisis,” says Bankstown Sports Sport and Community Coordinator Matt Star.

Twice, the staff have cut 1000 sandwiches in 30 minutes as part of a Sandwich Making Challenge - half the time they were set - and an overall total of 2100 sandwiches were donated to the charity.

Eat Up’s Amanda Howle says: “The money the Club made through sandwich donations and point of sale collections will go towards delivering a further 2453 lunches to hungry kids.”

Likewise, Cronulla RSL (Heart of the Community) supported the Snacktember food collection drive. Donations flooded into the Club’s reception and food was then delivered to the young founder Lennox Wade for distribution to those in need.

Lennox started Snacktember when she was three-years-old after her pre-school teachers told her that some children often miss out on lunch, but her home was overflowing with precious food.

Snacktember has been enormously successful in distributing food to those in need, so much so that a better storage solution was needed.

Cronulla RSL Community Projects Manager Natalie Hawkins says: “Cronulla RSL stepped in as not just a collection point but as the official storage and distribution hub for Snacktember in the Sutherland Shire, aka Snack Central.

“The final tally - 752 kg of donated snacks - the impact that collective generosity can have.”

The 2025 Clubs & Community Awards Dinner will be held in the ICC Ballroom on Thursday, 19 June. More details can be found here.