New foodbank service set for Meredith

A NEW initiative is coming soon out of the Meredith Community Centre with the aim of providing food security for people doing it tough.

Delivered by centre staff with support from Foodbank and Golden Plains Shire, the Meredith Mart is set to be open from next Monday.

Centre manager Leah Phillips said with cost-of-living pressures there’s been a need to provide support for people in the community.

“There’s a lot of people talking about how they’re struggling right now so if we can do anything to help them out, this is an ideal opportunity,” she said.

“This saves them going to the supermarket in Bannockburn or Ballarat so it’s also saving on petrol as well as if they can get some food staples here.

“The items will be things you can make a meal, whether breakfast, lunch and dinner, out of where you’d only have to add meat.”

Once open, the mart’s operating times will mirror the centre’s from 9am to 3pm Mondays to Thursdays.

With the Meredith Primary School’s food pantry active since 2020, Ms Phillps said their initiative will run differently.

“It’ll be in a room at our centre and completely anonymous,” she said.

“The pantry’s great for one-offs but this way people can grab exactly what they need. We’ll have a lot more than but they’ll be run in conjunction.

“We’re also able to do deliveries which will be from Meredith up to Bannockburn, it depends on what’s feasible.”

With food to be supplied monthly by Foodbank, Ms Phillips said there’ll also be potential for community involvement.

“If someone knows a family that’s doing it tough, they can be nominated for an anonymous front-door delivery,” she said.

“We’ll have a little fridge and people can donate what they can. It just has to be unopened food that’s not expired.

“Give what you can, take what you need is how we’re promoting this.”

The Meredith Mart is being supported with $3000 by Golden Plains Shire for a 12-month period.