Catering boost for Army’s emergency services

The delivery of a new catering truck to The Salvation Army Emergency Services (SAES) in the South Queensland Division will increase its capacity to serve at natural disasters, emergencies and training events.

“The need for a new and larger emergency catering unit [truck] was clearly evident after the 2010-2011 Queensland floods,” said Norm Archer, The Salvation Army’s Director of Emergency Services.

The catering unit includes a mobile commercial kitchen, fridge and freezer capacity, pantry, self-serving refreshment bay, 400-litre fresh-water storage and three washing-up sinks. It also features a large generator that allows for multiple tasks to be carried out simultaneously.

“We have played a key role in the development of the unit and made sure it has the ability to support large-scale emergency operations,” explained Adam Cole, state coordinator for the SAES in Queensland.

“The unit can also be deployed into other areas as required and arranged. We want to enable and equip Salvos churches to use the unit and my goal is to have at least four people at every one making up an SAES team so we have people everywhere to call on in case of emergency.”

The older South Queensland catering unit is being refurbished and will be redeployed to Townsville, in the Central and North Queensland Division, later this year.

“Equipping the SAES in a strategic location will give us a fantastic ability to respond to any disaster along the coastal areas of Queensland within four to six hours,” said Adam.

The SAES territorial headquarters has also acquired a new base camp, made up of two large shelters, with the ability to facilitate emergency catering and other disaster responses.

Two new catering trailers in Far North Queensland – based in Bundaberg and Rockhampton - are also available to travel across the Army’s two Queensland divisions.

The new catering truck is just one of many SAES developments across Queensland, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

“SAES teams across the Qld, NSW and the ACT have been supported with additional equipment through successful grants from the Department of Families, Community Services and Independent Affairs volunteer small equipment grants program,” said Adam.

“From the 2013 round of grants, Salvation Army Emergency Service teams in 17 locations have had the opportunity to enhance their ability to provide an emergency catering service no matter what the location may be.”