Dr MARJORIE O'NEILL (Coogee) — I rise today to recognise the work of Rebbetzin Laya Slavin of Our Big Kitchen, a community kitchen in the heart of Bondi. Our Big Kitchen helps people come together and volunteer their time to prepare meals for those in need, and last year, they made and distributed over 80,000 meals to disadvantaged Australians in need. Our Big Kitchen also works with other organisations to minimise food waste, and promote sustainable food production. At the beginning of the year, they also held a bushfire relief volunteering day which I had the pleasure of attending. Our Big Kitchen distribute goods to shelters across New South Wales, including to those housing people sleeping rough, to domestic violence shelters, and to organisations helping asylum seekers, all of which are services that have been pushed to the limit during the COVID-19 health crisis. For Mother's Day, Our Big Kitchen put together gift baskets which were donated to mothers in women's shelters, together distributing over 100 baskets. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone at Our Big Kitchen, from their volunteers to their organisers, and to everyone that has donated a product to this fantastic cause.
24 September 2020

