Got milk? The SoupBus needs it

HOW much milk do the people in your home go through each month?

At The SoupBus, volunteers are distributing 500 litres per month of long-life milk to their clients, with each carton donated to the emergency relief service by the Rotary Club of Ballarat.

This is a project the Rotarians have undertaken for the last five years, and recently they have been able to quintuple what they initially gave.

“We started supplying them with 100 litres a month and we were buying it out of club funds,” said Rotary Club of Ballarat immediate past president Alan Smith.

“But then COVID hit and there were supermarket limits of two containers per person per day, so our members started buying the milk themselves, with one of our former members collecting cartons at his office.

“On top of COVID, we’ve also had the general piking of the economy, with many food bank organisations struggling in Australia, so we are now supplying 500 litres a month to The SoupBus, and only just keeping up.”

Taking about 20 dozen containers to The SoupBus’ depot every fortnight, Mr Smith said the donations are then distributed to the organisation’s clients to take away for their breakfast the next morning.

“We give full cream, because that’s got more nutrients, and one litre cartons because that’s an easy size for people to take away,” he said.

“The important thing is that The SoupBus is not just for homeless people, but people in need, like families who may need to choose between paying their rent, or their mortgage, and putting food on the table.”

The OnTrack Foundation keeps the club up to date with all the latest on the charity’s progress, and volunteers continue to find it challenging to cater to demand.

If you would like to support the program, one-litre containers of full cream long-life milk can be donated via Mr Smith, who can be contacted via 0419 582 042.

“Absolutely, we encourage people to get involved if they are wanting to help with the process,” he said.