A makeshift kitchen established in the wake of catastrophic flooding in Lismore last February faces an uncertain future after the council asked the charity to find a new location.
What started last year as a box of produce in a tent beside the Koori Mail building quickly grew into a free food kitchen providing between 400 and 600 hot meals per day until its Christmas shut-down.
Lismore City Council (LCC) general manager John Walker said the Koori Kitchen marquee needed to be moved from its central location in a Molesworth Street carpark.
"We haven't directed them to close; we have told them we don't want them to continue operating out of the carpark," he said.
"As Lismore city builds back, car parking becomes critical, and that marquee is in a bad spot."
Koori Kitchen co-founder Chelsea Clayton said the group met with representatives from LCC and Aboriginal Affairs and Resilience NSW during November to discuss the organisation's future but no solution was found.
"This is still an essential service and people are still requiring help for food," she said.
"I can't see it being a quick transition unless we get something mobile."
Ms Clayton said the flood-affected community had relied on the service, not just for meals, but for support.
"It has provided a safe place for people to come and actually connect with each other through this trauma," she said.
"I feel like this town has a long way to go."
Ms Clayton said she had been moved by the community support.
"We came today to open up and have a look and there are flowers on the balcony and beautiful letters," she said.
"I don't know how to explain how sad it is, to think that we won't be here to actually keep supporting them."
Mr Walker said Koori Kitchen's operators were notified of the council's wishes in October and it was up to them to respond with possible alternative site options.
"This is more an issue of where is the best place to deliver those services from, rather than the services they are actually delivering," he said.
North Lismore soup kitchen returns
Meanwhile, the Winsome Soup Kitchen is back in full operation after the North Lismore service was severely damaged in the February 2022 flood event.
Manager Steve Smith said the volunteer-run service had capacity to provide up to 100 meals a day.
"Prior to COVID, we were serving 30,000 meals a year on average," he said.
"We can certainly cater and welcome anyone that's normally been depending on the Koori Kitchen meals to come and have a meal with us."
