Citizen of the Year

By Lachlan Ellis

A charitable soul has been recognised for her work for local food relief, taking out the Australia Day Moorabool Citizen of the Year award for 2023.

Judy D’Attoma started Bacchus Up to Pay it Forward (BUTPIF) in 2015, which runs a food voucher program supporting people experiencing food security or hardship.

Since late 2018 the program has raised over $25,000 and distributed more than $15,000 (1,523) in vouchers to people in need.

Judy was instrumental in working towards a free community pantry, where the community can donate pantry items and take what they need.

BUTPIF has also provided 30 fruit trees to two primary schools in the area and has set up a garden to provide fresh vegetables to the community pantry and Soul Food.

Ms D’Attoma said it was a shock to get the call from Mayor Cr Rod Ward telling her she’d won the award.

“I was going through a hard time myself and had community helping me and I just wanted to give back, I’m not the only one going through this…there are people who go through worse than me. I woke up one morning and thought ‘Bacchus Up to Pay it Forward’, and the idea just grew from there,” she told the Moorabool News.

Ms D’Attoma said she hopes her Citizen of the Year award will bring more awareness to the needs of the community, and she hopes to expand the program to Ballan this year.

“There’s a lot of people that are in need of support. We sort of go through our daily lives forgetting what another person needs, but hopefully this award brings awareness that there is more need than what we’re giving at the moment,” she said.

“I’d like to say a huge thank you to the community of Bacchus Marsh. It’s just amazing, absolutely incredible, what people have done and what they’ve donated. This wouldn’t exist without the support that we’ve gotten from businesses and the community…I’m a small piece of the pie, this is a 22,000-person effort.”

All award recipients, including the yet-to-be-announced Young Citizen of the Year and Community Event of the Year winners, will be formally recognised at the 2023 Australia Day Awards at the Mechanics Institute, Inglis Street, Ballan on Thursday 26 January 2023 commencing at 9 am.

Certificates of Achievement and the Mayoral Award for outstanding contributions will also be announced closer to the day.