The Current Direction - This week.

In terms of food NOW, the message we are getting from the people at Goodna and Ipswich for tomorrow and future days/weeks is that they need:

• meals in single portion serves (such as plastic disposable containers) that can be eaten cold or warm (such as quiche, rice dishes, pasta dishes, etc)
• fresh fruit and vegetables
• drinks - water, poppers for kids, soft drink (Coke is especially popular), small containers of UHT milk for tea/coffee
• preferably no more cakes or sweet foods

Someone donated 200 small gas cookers which is GREAT but there is now a need for basic kitchen stuff.

DO NOT send something you wouldn't be happy to have yourself. So many times I am going into this evacuation and community centers and its like someone has just cleaned out all the junk they don't want, some broken too and just taken it there thinking they are doing the right thing. Some of these people have lost everything, but the one thing they haven't lost is their pride and we don't want to damage that.

A list of things needed includes:

• Pots, pans, cooking utensils
• Crockery and cutlery (even picnic or plastic at the moment is fine

Other things desperately needed are:

• towels 
• sheets
• pillows (new)
• new kids underwear
• rubber gloves
• toiletries - shampoo/conditioner/toothpaste/toothbrushes/sanitary products
• toilet paper
• wet wipes/hand sanitised
• cleaning products including white vinegar and 3-5 litre spray bottles (so that bleach can be sprayed on walls to prevent mould)
• surgical masks (for when bleach is being sprayed)

Tomorrow there will be someone at Ballymore between 11am and 6pm daily to accept food and the other items mentioned. There will also be someone collecting these items and shuttling them out to Goodna/Ipswich every day this week, but at times to be advised each day.

Food and these items can also be delivered to Wayne Swans office before 11am every day (excluding today - Monday, as they are heading up to Helidon for the Morning Tea at 7am) He has people bringing things to Ballymore.
 
Feeding Lockyer
 
The Lockyer Feed-A-Thon will kick into full scale planning from tomorrow and with the offer of commercial kitchens around Brisbane we will be ready to engage people to cook, and get these meals sorted and out to families. These things take time, we cant do everything at once. It is important that we have a plan in place for these families LONG TERM. At the moment they are doing good, they are in the Evacuation Centers, they are being fed and clothed. It is when they get back into their homes, or into rentals, or if they continue to live with other people - THATS when we want to help.  We are going to provide ongoing meals to them (weekly basis at this stage) so they can have one night off a week to relax and 'chill out'. There aren't take away stores in these towns, so we will not be taking any business away from the community, if anything we will be putting something back by purchasing as much as we can in the region ongoing.
 
It has been a HUGE 14 days for me and I am sure many of you feel the same. The emotional and physical drain which I have had is unlike anything else, and I am extremely lucky. The strenght of the families which have been flood affected needs to be supported.
 
With your wonderful help and support, Baked Relief is doing everything we can!