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| Home (left) Nine bins of donated pastries and pies were thrown out by Baptist Community Services' WestCare homeless centre just off Wright Street, Adelaide yesterday afternoon, 14 January, 2009.. They were delivered day old from Vilis earlier in the week but management refused to distribute them to welfare clients, instead systematically throwing them into the rubbish. Staff involved in this process are now attempting to identify those who exposed this wastage and expel them from the organisation. Big changes at WestCare WestCare has made changes since the above pictures were taken. Below is a report dated 6 April 2009 in Hot Gossip 12 about ten weeks after the wasted food fiasco. Ian Townsend and a man in a suit arrived at the WestCare kitchen during lunch on Monday last week. There were loud voices and the waving of arms as one of them "laid down the law". Jayne H, David S, Don, Stuart and others were in the kitchen. The result has been that the cook, Jayne H, can no longer go into the outer cool room, nor can she order, collect or distribute food. Her terrain is reduced to the four walls of the kitchen and that doesn't include the dining room. Once the food is passed across the servery counter her influence has ended. She can no longer kick clients out of WestCare because they stare at her. A volunteer serving food in the dining room reputedly said to her last week: "Don't tell me what to do. I don't work on your side of the kitchen." Stuart and the paid employee, Richard, now collect the food from Villis, Balfours and Food Bank though the free milk is still not picked up. Instead of being tossed into the rubbish buns and pies are again distributed at 1:30pm though in lesser amounts. The rest is sent to Byron Place, St Vinnies and the Salvation Army "drunk tank". Jayne can no longer use the computers in the office to play games as this was annoying the office staff. Her empire has crumbled though she still has the important responsibility of directing the cooking for which she is paid. Her empire has crumbled and it will be a credit to her integrity if she can muster the strength of character to continue in this position. Perhaps the three people kicked out after trying to expose the food irregularities should get unconditional pardons and be asked to return to WestCare. WestCare has always been my favourite homeless joint, abundantly full of goodwill. 6 April 2009 |