SoupBus service expands to Wendouree

AFTER fifteen years of operations, the Ballarat SoupBus now has a permanent second location from which to provide food for people in need.

Up and running since late October, the evening meal service is being run out of the former Wendouree Neighbourhood Centre at 14 Violet Grove, which is operating in conjunction with the mobile service.

Craig Schepis, the founder of SoupBus organiser On Track Foundation said a second Ballarat location has been a long-held goal.

“For at least 12 years now both Wendouree and Sebastopol have wanted us to come and service their area and we hadn’t been able to do it,” he said.

“There are a number of people that simply couldn’t get to us in the CBD and we were so busy there we weren’t able to head out there.

“We’ve been working on our strategy of getting more buses running but the Wendouree Neighbourhood Centre told us last year they’d be moving to new facilities and offered their old ones.”

Working since February to deliver the service, the Wendouree location will operate from 6.30pm to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with the plan to expand the operation to Mondays to Thursdays.

Like the Central Ballarat service, the Wendouree location will be run each night by a team of five volunteers.

Mr Schepis said with one month behind them, the Wendouree site is being well-received.

“It started off slow which is good because it’s given the new teams a chance to wrap their head around everything,” he said.

“The numbers have been good, about a dozen at a time so it’s been a wonderful start and the community that are using it are getting great care from our volunteers who are having a great time.”

Plans are underway to introduce a third Ballarat SoupBus location in Sebastopol, which Mr Schepis said he hopes will be ready to launch by mid-next year.