Fiji’s First Food bank is expected to open sometime this week at the St. Vincent de Paul headquarters on Raojibhai Patel Street.

It is an initiative of The Saint Vincent De Paul Society with the Ministry of Social Welfare funding the start up with a grant from the European Union.

Society director Ben Hazzelman says only people who desperately need help will be assisted.

“To the unfortunate ones, to those who really living in poverty, if i said its open to everyone it could be a free for all thing then we lose control in it, the deserving one gets what is it.”

Hazzelman says street dwellers and the homeless are also eligible for this program.

“We look after lot of cases of street dwellers, now those who leave up the street its no use giving them package of food stuff, maybe they will be come and feeling hungry, if there is noodles, anything we can cook up a meal for them, we will do that do that to cater for that market.”

The food bank based at the St. Vincent De Paul building on Rajibhai Patel Street should be giving its first assistance to the needy sometime this week