The spirit of giving

By Lachlan Ellis

Christmas is just two weeks away, and local food relief groups are calling on the community to keep up the generous spirit, and help those who need support this festive season.

It’s been a tough year for many Moorabool residents, and Christmas can be the hardest day of the year for those who are struggling financially.

But services such as Darley Neighbourhood House’s Community Pantry, and the vouchers offered by Bacchus Up To Pay It Forward (BUTPIF), provide food to those who might otherwise skip meals.

Though the two are separate non-profit organisations, they are united in their goal to help fill people’s bellies.

The Community Pantry accepts non-perishable food and hygiene item donations, while BUTPIF accepts monetary donations at a range of local businesses and distributes food vouchers that can be used to buy food at some stores, with donations used to reimburse the participating stores.

Darley Neighbourhood House manager Renae Knight said the community’s generosity this year had been amazing, and every extra donation could help make someone’s Christmas a little brighter.

“The demand has increased, it’s steadily increased over the year, but of course this time of year can be particularly tough for people. But what we’ve noticed is that while this year’s been tricky with donations and we understand that, people’s generosity at the moment has been amazing. It gives me goosebumps,” Ms Knight told the Moorabool News.

“We’ve had some dignity bags that students from Bacchus Marsh Grammar put together with toiletries and that kind of thing…and people taking time out of their daily life to do a shop or add items to donate to the Pantry.

“We have so many amazing community organisations providing support for people like Soul Food, The Neighbour’s Place…we all try to collaborate.”

The Community Pantry will close for the year on 22 December, which is where Judy D’Attoma’s BUTPIF comes in, with vouchers available over the whole Christmas period.

Donation boxes to contribute to BUTPIF’s food relief program are located at over 40 locations including Champions IGA in Darley, Darley Bakehouse, Bacchus Marsh Fish & Chip Shop, Foodworks, Loot Café, Little Lucky, and Jolly Miller.

Ms D’Attoma said as little as $10 could provide a meal for someone in need.

“We’ve noticed there’s not as much being donated in money boxes at the moment. If everyone could reach out and donate $10 each, that’d provide so many meals over the Christmas period. The demand has increased so much, so many more people are doing it tough, some are living in cars,” she said.

“There’s also a box at IGA for food donations, which go to the Community Pantry. It’s good to get in the festive spirit but it’s the hardest time of the year for some people…if you can’t donate $10 for the vouchers, please put some food in the Pantry.”

BUTPIF vouchers are available at Cafs at 52 Grant Street.

For more information on the Darley Neighbourhood House and BUTPIF, visit their Facebook pages, or their respective websites at www.darleylearning.com, and www.butpif.org.au.