Larder closed, Luncheon Club cut

Larder closed, Luncheon Club cut

ACON has closed its Larder groceries service and will halve the number of free meal services available at its Elizabeth St headquarters from the end of March.

ACON and the Bobby Goldsmith Foundation (BGF) rescued the Luncheon Club from closure due to lack of funds in 2008, but NSW Health only agreed to provide ACON with funding to run the club for another 12 months if it became a health promotion program focusing on case management and referral to HIV services and mental health and drug and alcohol services.

That funding ended in 2009. ACON and BGF had been funding the program out of their own pockets ever since, along with the two meal services ACON provided through the Positive Living Centre.

ACON CEO Nick Parkhill said the Luncheon Club formally ended when ACON moved to Elizabeth St, but the organisation continued to provide four meals a week and food assistance to help clients transition while it finished amalgamating all its health promotion services for HIV positive people.

A single delivery model will be in place by March 30.

“The transition process has been very successful, with a significant increase in client referrals to health and social support services recorded in the period,” Parkhill said.

Larder and Luncheon Club clients will be referred to nearby organisations that receive government funding to provide free meal and food services.

“These agencies are all better placed to provide these services than ACON, not least because they’re specifically funded to do so and we’re not,” Parkhill said. “Our funder is very clear that our grant funding is not provided for meal and food assistance program delivery.”

However, Parkhill said ACON would continue to provide breakfast on Tuesdays and lunch on Fridays out of its existing funding.

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5 responses to “Larder closed, Luncheon Club cut”

  1. As a longtime volunteer with the Luncheon Club from its begining in 93/94 and remembering the very real need of those in the community who were/are HIV+ and the support and assistance the Luncheon Club and Larder gave in a safe and friendly environment it is very much a sad and shameful decision ACON has made in dismantling this very important service to the people whom ACON is supposed to be there for.

    Carole Ann did not receive funding for many years and spent countless hours night and day with the assistance of many volunteers going to anything and everything to raise funds at venues who were generous in allowing us to do so.

    It is unfortunate that ACON seems to be more interested in bureauracy than maintaining this necessary service.

  2. We knew it was coming, however people like Nic Parkhill should be aschamed of themselves.This was never told to the public and community in general.This is an outrage on our community.ACON need to be de-funded

  3. The one thing all these so called ‘providers’ seem to forget, if AIDS was not around, none of them would have any job to go to and all these specilists would have t get a job in the real world as not the fabricated Aids Inc, where all they seem to do is have meetings about what they are going to do so help us poor Aids victims. Take that away and all you have is quuers and lessos looking at each other wonderin what is the next campaign to scrounge money out of NSW Health.This goes for AFAO and NAPWA they all just make very hollow promises and re-deliver the same old reterice month in and out.

  4. Knew this was going to happen when ACON took over. Never been the same since Carol ann King left and handed it over. I hate ACON.