High demand for free meal service at Perth burger bar
For one night a month, a burger franchise in Perth is closing its doors to feed people in need. It's a simple initiative that homeless organisations say is becoming increasingly necessary.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 It looks like business as usual, but as the assembly line of cooks in Perth's grilled
00:08 restaurant prepare burgers, people who are sleeping rough line the street for a free
00:14 meal.
00:15 I miss a lot of night-time meals.
00:17 You know, which is a need for people, I think.
00:23 The initiative started in Melbourne in March last year and was adopted at this CBD restaurant
00:29 the following month.
00:30 So they come in, they order at the till, they choose what they want, they choose their drink,
00:34 we bring the food out to them, it's a really nice opportunity for them to have a normal
00:38 dining experience.
00:39 Upwards of 300 people are coming through the doors, and the number is only rising.
00:45 All you need to do is look out the door and see that the lines wrapped around the building,
00:49 that shows that the need has significantly increased, so we're seeing people that would
00:53 never have had to access services before coming for the first time.
00:56 The joyous event is highlighting a real growing issue.
01:00 It's getting harder and harder every year for everyone.
01:02 I've stayed out in the streets here with the four CEOs now, and hopefully it's got some
01:06 growth.
01:07 A lot of people feel isolated, and they're not part of the community, and I think the
01:11 city changes that for them.
01:14 Maybe only a little bit, maybe only for some people, but that's all that matters, isn't
01:18 it?
01:19 A small helping hand at a time it's needed most.
01:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]