For early childhood services that are having difficulty purchasing food through their usual food supplier or online, you may have to come up with alternatives options.
These may include:
- Teaming up with services in the area and buying in bulk from wholesale suppliers.
- Purchase from local fruit and vegetable supplier
- Be flexible with the weekly menu, with the foods that you have currently available. For example, if on Wednesday you normally have sandwiches and there is no bread available, change it.
- Ask parents to provide food (for example lunch) for their child, while the centre provides morning and afternoon tea.
- Reach out through social media to food suppliers of restaurants and cafes.
- Reconsider activities e.g. playdough which uses flour and salt which is currently in shortage and make an alternative such as slime.
Wholesale suppliers and local market grocers listed below:
- Bidfood(Australia wide)
- PFD Food Services(Australia wide) fresh seafood and meat together with frozen products, dry goods, paper products and cleaning solutions.
- Wiffens(ACT)
- Market Grocer(Sydney),
- Harris Farm(ACT & Sydney)
- YourGrocer(Melbourne)
- WA Fresh(Perth metro, Wandering, Williams and Boddington)
- Catch of the Day(Bargain shopping)
- Find your local farmers market around Australia
- Amazon Australia, Officeworks and Who Gives a Crap and Pure Planet
Note: If you register your service with a big chain such as Coles with your business name as a childcare centre, you are considered vulnerable, so they will continue to deliver to your service as a priority.
It's important to reach out to people within the community and families and adjust as you go.
Reference:
Alternative Options For Services Having Difficulties With Food Supplies, Aussie Childcare Network, 23 March 2020
