Hundreds of residents in Sydney’s Inner West demonstrated their desire to contribute to Palestine and Palestinian victims of Israel’s occupation and war on Gaza by turning a ‘bake sale’ into a sell-out success.
The Sydney Hospo for Palestine Bake sale was held at the Addison Road Community Markets on Sunday.
Image: Nikki To
Bloodwood co-owner inspired by success of ‘Melbourne Hospo for Palestine’ event
The idea was kicked off by Clare Van Vuuren, the co-owner of Bloodwood restaurant in Newtown and member of Women in Hospitality. She told City Hub that she was inspired by the huge success of the Melbourne Hospo for Palestine event at Pinottas in May.
The organisers chose ‘Addi Rd.’as a safe space with a record for fundraising for Palestine.
Van Vuuren started with 4 or 5 chefs and that quickly grew to 50, each of whom committed to supply about 50 baked items.
Van Vuuren knew that Sydneysiders love baked goods and she was proved right. When the Bake sale opened last Sunday, queues around the site quickly formed.
The final result was more than 2500 pieces of bakery goods sold plus over 600 cups of coffee donated by Solstice Coffee in Summer Hill plus 100 Alcohol free sodas from DRNKS in Alexandria. At the end of the morning, there was nothing left for sale.
Image: Nikki To
‘Creating community and making a positive contribution’
One of the other Bake Sale organisers, Monica Luppi said, “Many people expressed desire to do something to help, which was wonderful. This said, we will not stop while there’s a need. So we’ll keep going, doing what we can to help. And I would encourage anyone out there to do what they can, because it can feel overwhelming, like such a huge problem, but every person’s support is important. For us it was about creating community and making a positive contribution.”
Event raised more than $25,000 for Palestinian support organisers
The event raised more than $25,000, which will be divided between PANZMA (Palestine-Australia – New Zealand Medical Association) a non-profit organization of healthcare professionals across Australia and New Zealand and PARA Foundation which helps Palestinian migrants and refugees settle in Australia.
PANZA’s vision is to see “a world where Palestinians have access to quality health care and live in peace and dignity….a world where Palestinians are recognized and respected as equal members of the global community.free from the barriers created by conflict and displacement.
PARA is led by Australian Palestinians. Its mission is to “centre, strengthen, and amplify Palestinian voices” by providing “support for Palestinians while they are in Australia, helping them to achieve their full potential, free from the barriers created by conflict and displacement.”
Inner West event ‘gives people confidence that they are not alone in caring about Palestine’
Van Vuuren says that ideas like Hospo for Palestine give people confidence that they are not alone in caring about Palestine. “People are encouraged when big name businesses in their own community show publicly that they support the cause too,” she said.
Some of those who supported the Bake Sale have regularly attended weekly rallies calling for freedom for Palestinians since October 2023. But for others, supporting the Bake Sale fundraiser was the first practical step they have taken in supporting Palestine.
Van Vuuren said that she would definitely consider doing another Bake Sale. Next time, she thinks she can get up to 80 chefs and raise even more money.