HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
When Buddist nun The Venerable Honu Dawson came to Byron Bay, she saw many people struggling to make ends meet.
She also saw good food from homes & businesses going to landfill.
Honu recognised the generous spirit of the Byron community, who shared her concerns were ready to lend a hand.
On the 1st May 2009 Liberation Larder humbly opened for business.
Honu invited anyone from the community to bring their excess food to the Byron Community Centre.
She invited anyone who needed food to come each Thursday at 4pm & take what they needed, no questions asked, with a small donation accepted if they could afford it.
It wasn’t long before a group of women in Suffolk Park were also making nutritious casseroles & other wholesome meals to help.
Liberation Larder was a lifeline for many.
From an initial 20 or so clients it continued to grow.
A lunch service started two days a week in the Byron Community Centre's Fletcher St kitchen, run by Honu & a small band of dedicated volunteers.
Honu knocked on many doors in those early days & her persistence secured the first regular food donations.
Honu sadly passed away in August 2023 after a long illness, however her vision & commitment guided Liberation Larder to success & on it's journey to achieve it's mission !!
OUR STORY CONTINUES
Food insecurity & food waste are still an enormous challenge in our community. Liberation Larder has kept growing. Helen Hamilton led the organisation after Honu, followed by Liz Jackson, with the current committee president John Morgan since 2025.
More than 50 volunteers are now always on the job...collecting, cooking & distributing food to those in need.
The statistics that reflect our impact change every year. What doesn't change is our commitment to provide good nutritious food to those in need.
We see new & familiar faces visit our kitchen every week. People who are living rough, living out of cars, struggling with the cost of living & quite often, even on their way to work. We support people with mental health challenges, drug dependency, unemployment, safety issues & many experiencing financial stress.
Each week we're seeing more single mums with young kids & more of our First Nations community regularly needing our services. In excess of 25% of our male clients & 20% of our female clients identify as First Nations people.
We recognise that anyone can find themselves with food insecurity & we help those in need without judgement.
Keeping our service running without guaranteed funding has always required passion, commitment & ingenuity from our volunteers. At one stage, Liberation Larder lacked enough food & financial support to help everyone who needed the service. Over time, we've continued to looked for more food rescue & funding opportunities & our team of incredible supporters has continued to grow.
Volunteers collect donations of food, produce, pantry items & drinks from our generous supporters at the local Farmers Markets, wholesalers, large corporate & small family businesses, resorts, cafes & restaurants in our area. We receive financial donations from generous individuals & businesses.
Liberation Larder is a community success story who are week in, week out tackling a very real problem that is both local & global. Rescuing food & fighting hunger every day.
There are many challenges & exciting opportunities that lie ahead, so we need your continued support .
We invite everyone to join us !!
