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| Seven-year-old Hope Bohan and nine-year-old Sasha Doyle with Santa and a crocodile at the Community Compassion Christmas party at the Ipswich Food Barn. |
SOME of Ipswich's most needy children enjoyed a very snappy Christmas when they got up close and personal with a baby crocodile at the Community Compassion Christmas Party in Woodend on Tuesday.
Free food hampers, Christmas presents and a cooked lunch were also on offer as about 400 people packed into the group's hot tin-shed headquarters at Darling St.
Children collected presents and mobbed Santa and his unusual pets as parents enjoyed a moment away from the daily hardship faced by many Ipswich families this Christmas.
The Foodbarn is barely a year old, but you would never know it by the number of people who flock to the centre each week for help.
Centre co-ordinator Kerry McQuaker said the church-run facility had fed more than 1500 Ipswich families in the first year and the numbers showed no sign of slowing.
"The sad thing is that everybody is struggling more financially every day," he said.
"We're still increasing by five to 10 families a day here."
The Foodbarn, also known as the Lion and the Lamb Community Centre, opens daily from 9am to primarily provide food hampers to needy families.
The Christmas party was a way to offer families a little extra joy in what can be a difficult time of year for those reliant on welfare services.
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