One of South Australia’s largest venue management organisations will produce up to 10,000 meals a day to support community catering organisations facing unprecedented demand, enabling them to continue delivering food for our most vulnerable – and keep staff in jobs.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Adelaide Venue Management (AVM)—operators of the Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide Entertainment Centre and Coopers Stadium—will repurpose their venues and make use of their commercial kitchens to make meals for organisations including Meals on Wheels SA, as demand for their services soars.
All meals will be prepared by Adelaide Venue Management’s dedicated kitchen teams and made in accordance with current vulnerable persons guidelines, ensuring the food is nutritious and healthy.
The organisation’s goodwill will keep about 60 people in jobs that may otherwise be on Jobseeker Centrelink payments.
Minister for Human Services Michelle Lensink said Adelaide Venue Management should feel proud of their work giving back to the community in their hour of need.
“This a fantastic example of a South Australian organisation stepping up to help the community at this unprecedented time,” said Minister Lensink.
“We know community catering organisations like Meals on Wheels are experiencing a huge spike in demand for their nutritious food delivery services as people, particularly vulnerable South Australians, self-isolate at home to stay safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19.”
“Not only is Adelaide Venue Management contributing tens of thousands of meals to the community at this time, their innovation is enabling dozens of staff to remain in jobs—and that’s great news.”
Adelaide Venue Management Chief Executive Officer Anthony Kirchner said his company is pleased to be able to help the South Australian community at this time.
“We have a responsibility to support the South Australian community and make the best use of our considerable resources,” said Mr Kirchner.
“Across our venues, we have access to some of the biggest kitchens in the state, along with a highly trained team, who are at the ready to assist South Australians in important ways.”
“We’ll transition back to our regular business activities when the appropriate time comes, but for now we’re focused on repurposing our venues to support the community and look after the wellbeing of our employees.”
