Voice of Real Australia: Why Aussies get in the kitchen to deal with disasters

It's such an Aussie thing, but in times of crisis getting into the kitchen and cooking something for someone else desperately in need becomes our go-to way of offering support.

We saw it when the Sikhs of Melbourne beat almost everyone else into Lismore in NSW's Northern Rivers to cook their curries in the immediate aftermath of the devastating Lismore floods in February.

When roads were closed, when Lismore became a climate change island in the midst of modern Australia, the Sikh volunteers got into a white van and brought their delicious brand of goodness into this cut-off part of the country.

Food becomes currency in a crisis. It opens doors that might not otherwise open.

Because even when people have no power, water, sewerage, walls or carpets, and their possessions are piled up on the front lawn, they will still tell you 'there must be someone worse off than me'.

Months on from the devastating flood that first impacted the region, there are still food hubs and hundreds of volunteers cooking and distributing food.

They are literally feeding the region's recovery.

One example is a group based in the hinterland of Byron Bay who have been operating flood food relief since setting up the Mud Cafe in New City Rd, Mullumbimby all those months ago.

This group of volunteers switched to Lismore once the need dropped off in Mullum and have since run thousands of meals into the region, sometimes door to door in flood impacted areas, and sometimes into food hubs operated by the Koori Mail, Hearts Kitchen and Trees Not Bombs.

It has served a practical purpose. While Lismore CBD and Lismore Square was out of action there simply hasn't been anywhere to get a feed.

Providing food flood relief is a two-way treat.

It meets the needs of flood victims who might not otherwise have the means, money or energy to feed their traumatised selves.

But in no small way it provides those in the community who are better off and able to donate the time, effort, ingredients and recipes, to offer practical support.

Some cafes and restaurants have been involved in this food flood relief, but mostly it has been a community of friends brought together after a call out on social media.

If food provides nourishment for the soul, the NSW Northern Rivers clearly has plenty of soul.

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