For over 20 years, Nanette has been volunteering at All Saints Church, distributing food relief to the local community in Preston. Operating out of the church hall every Friday, the food relief program is currently feeding over 70 people a week.
“People come in and present either their health care card, pension card, refugee card, any of those sorts of cards, and they get a food parcel. We’ve got several different shelves of staple items and they can choose items from each shelf, and then select their own fresh and chilled items,” said Nanette.
Nanette believes allowing the person to select their own food is important.
“We let them know you have so many choices on each shelf and then they pick what they want and what they like. This is better because if you give them what they don’t like, they might not take it.”
Most people only access the food once a month; however, the program never turns anyone away.
“Sometimes people come in under that month and we always give them something. For one reason or another, if they need a food parcel we will help,” Nanette continued.
The dedicated team of volunteers ensure that not only do they provide a friendly face and food relief, but they also refer individuals to any services they might need.
“We do hear some stories — some of them are quite sad. Sometimes we can tell if someone might need additional assistance and we can generally refer them on to who they need to see.”
Nanette’s husband and Nanette’s long-time friend Shirley have also been involved in the program since its inception over 20 years ago. However, new volunteers are continuing to join, including the latest recruit Jill.
After retiring, Jill was looking for a role to keep her busy and provide purpose and connection to the community. While also volunteering at an op shop during the week, Jill praises the group for keeping her active and offering a chance to give back.
“Coming here has just made my life, you see – I love it!”
Nanette is pictured centre in the above image
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