Pindari Services introduces a community kitchen
Students and staff of the new Pindari community kitchen.
The Salvation Army's Pindari Services in Queensland has been in operation since 1980, providing support for men and women experiencing homelessness. This support includes food, mental health services and opportunity to transition towards independent living.
Pindari is always aiming to improve its services, with the latest initiative being the development of a community kitchen, which was officially opened on 4 November. The kitchen not only provides food for the 100 men and women that are accommodated through Pindari, but is also an opportunity for those experiencing homelessness to complete Certificate 3 in Hospitality and leave the service qualified.
“At Pindari, we work with the person to discover their personal journey of recovery,” Pindari Services manager Anne Wilson says. “We wanted to incorporate our food provision into that core practice of recovery, so we restructured our kitchen, we hired a qualified chef and trainer, who for 12 weeks teaches Certificate 3 in hospitality to interested men and women. Our trainer teaches the practical and the theory component on site in our new kitchen.”
As part of the practical component for the qualification, the students of the Pindari community kitchen make the meals for the other men and women using Pindari’s services. The new community kitchen has enabled those experiencing homelessness to learn about hospitality management, event planning, budgeting and cooking skills.
Forty people attended the official opening, including the local council representative. One of the men in the course was the event manager for the day, while other students created the menu, budgeted for it and put the food together. Speeches were given and testimonies were shared about how this new kitchen was transforming lives.
“One of the guys has already got a job which is fantastic, and many have found a new passion for living,” Anne says. “Another man was suffering severe depression and found it very difficult to engage. The kitchen has given him an avenue to develop his confidence again, he is really reclaiming his life through what he is doing in the kitchen. It’s pretty amazing.”
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