Useful services and resources in Newcastle, Australia during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

I am updating this page frequently, and somewhat haphazardly. At this point I haven’t tried any of the delivery services listed below, so can’t vouch for them. I love you. See you soon, yeah? 💛

Finding free food in Newcastle:

• Food Not Bombs Newcastle. Free hot meals. Every Wednesday at 5pm, in the park next to Hamilton train station. COVID-19 announcement.
• Free soup and bread packs, and now also grocery boxes, from Newy Burger Co, 459 Hunter Street, Newcastle. 2-5pm daily. Updated details.
• Onyx Espresso Bar is offering free meals, delivered, to anyone who needs one. Details.
• Soul Cafe free takeaway meal service 11am-12.30pm Monday to Thursday and 7.30-8.30am Fridays. Free groceries too, check their FB page for details. Corner of Hunter and Watt Street, Newcastle.
• Reach Homeless Services are distributing emergency food and hygiene packs from Suspension Espresso, 3 Beaumont St, Islington. Every Friday, 4-6pm. Details.
• DARA is providing a free weekly meal delivery service. Register on their website or call 4979 1339.
• Not free, but very cheap: The Pantry at Hamilton SDA Church offers $10 grocery boxes for pick-up every Thursday, 5-7pm. 105 Lindsay St, Hamilton.
• Foodbank for finding local sources of free food.
• Ask Izzy can help you find a variety of support services, including food.

Grocery delivery and/or distant pick-up in Newcastle:

• Adam’s Family Meats - meat, smallgoods and cheese delivery.
• Adamstown Fresh Fruit - fruit + veg delivery.
• An Apple a Day - fruit + veg box safe pick-up, delivery to come.
• Babbingtons Bar & Grill - fruit + veg, grocery box safe pick-up.
• Baked Uprising - baked goods, safe pick-up. Details.
• Banana Barn - fruit + veg box delivery.
• Coles - has a priority delivery service and Community Box.
• Feedbox - organic fruit + veg box subscriptions.
• Fresh to You - selected fruit + veg delivery.
• Fruit Brothers - fruit boxes and grocery delivery.
• Harris Farm - fruit + veg, grocery delivery. Also Harris Farm Express for blind grocery boxes.
• Hippo Espresso - grocery box delivery.
• Jarretts Quality Meats - meat delivery and safe pick-up. Details.
• Jesmond Fruit Barn - fruit + veg, grocery delivery.
• Joslin Street Quality Meats - meat, baked goods and grocery delivery. Details.
• Lambton Fruit Market - fruit + veg, grocery delivery. Details.
• Local Crop - fruit + veg boxes, grocery delivery. Details.
• Miller’s Produce - fruit + veg boxes, grocery delivery.
• The Milkman’s Back - grocery delivery.
• Miss Melons - fruit + veg boxes, grocery delivery.
• My Fruito - fruit + veg, grocery delivery.
• Newcastle Fruit Boxes - fruit + veg box delivery.
• Not Just Apples and Oranges - fruit + veg box delivery.
• Organic Feast - fruit + veg, grocery delivery.
• PEAL Produce - fruit + veg box delivery. Details.
• Pork Ewe Deli - deli goods delivery and safe pick-up.
• Rarity Wholesale - fruit + veg box delivery.
• Red Funnel - bulk grocery delivery. Seafood, meats, frozen food and pantry items.
• Snows - baked goods delivery. Details.
• Somerset Meats - meat pack pick-up. Details.
• Woolworths - delivery and pick-up options are evolving. Vulnerable members of the community are prioritised for delivery, and there is now a Basics Box available.
• Your Food Collective - fruit + veg boxes, grocery delivery.

Slow Food Hunter Valley also has a good list of local food delivery options on their Facebook page.

Takeaway/meal delivery in Newcastle:

• Foodfighters - FB group sharing takeaway and meal delivery information from local restaurants and cafes.
• Still Open - FB group for restaurants in the Hunter Valley sharing their takeaway and delivery menus.
• Buy Local, Safely - Very new but potentially useful directory of delivery/pickup services.

Pharmaceutical delivery and/or pick-up in Newcastle:

• Chemist Warehouse - delivery is still functioning. Click and collect is suspended seems to be up and running again.
• healthSAVE New Lambton - delivery available.
• Merewether Pharmacy - delivery available. Details.
• Pharmacy 4 Less - delivery available.
• Piggott’s Pharmacy - limited deliveries available. Merewether store is open 8am-8pm, seven days a week.
• TerryWhite Chemmart - limited deliveries available.

General household goods delivery in Newcastle:

• Big W - delivery for a range of household items.
• Bunnings - click and collect, and delivery for certain items.
• Officeworks - delivery available.
• Again, try Buy Local, Safely for miscellaneous goods and services.

Kids/education:

• An insightful thread on homeschooling from Sim Kern. Update: this has now been expanded into an article at Edutopia.
• Advice to parents and carers from the NSW Department of Education.
• Science at Home - a brand new series of projects from Newcastle Museum.
• The Kid Should See This - curated video content for kids, from a variety of sources. Well-tagged for following threads of interest.
• Free audiobooks for kids and teens from Audible.

Online communities:

• The Newcastle Echo
• Newcastle helping Newcastle during COVID-19

Housing and income:

• Renting & Coronavirus: What you need to know from the Tenants’ Union of NSW.
• How to apply for the Centrelink coronavirus supplement as a sole trader from ArtsHub.
• Newy Housing Defence Coalition
• Newcastle Tenants’ Solidarity
• Newcastle, Hunter and Central Coast Renters Alliance
• Workers Organising Resistance in the Pandemic
• Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union

Art/culture:

• To come, gotta sort through some tabs.

Health:

• COVID-19 Practical Advice, a collection of resources and information focused on prevention and home care.
• How To Make Your Own Mask - “My mask protects you, your mask protects me.”
• Ragmask, another good-looking DIY mask.
• Coronavirus and Community Care from the Commons Library.
• Modifications to Routine Household Procedures Can Reduce Risk of COVID-19 Contagion (PDF) from the Crumpton Group.
• Caring for relatives at home from Dr. John Campbell.
• Protocols for delivering items to and collecting items from someone in self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic from QueerCare.

Home-based living:

• An excellent list of home-based living resources from Milkwood. Dig around the site for lots more useful stuff, like their Permaculture 2020 series.

Much of the local information here was grabbed from comment threads at the essential Newcastle Echo Facebook group. 🙏

Posted 26 March. Updated 17 April 2020