By Romy Stephens
The Belgrave Tecoma Township Group (BTTG) has joined forces with local cafes and a charity to address an increasing demand for donated meals this year.
The township group, which recently received a Yarra Ranges Township Group Network grant, will deliver $500 worth of meals in partnership with The Eatery and Foothills Community Care.
The money will be donated to The Eatery so the cafe can provide meals for the Foothills Community Care’s Community Casseroles program.
Foothills Community Care CEO Stephen Barrington said Community Casseroles was always a popular program but the demand for meals had “skyrocketed” during Covid-19.
“In a normal week we would have done about 200-250 meals, now we’re up to 900-1000 a week,” he said.
“In a normal year we do about 9000 meals on average and we’ve just done over 25,000. We’ll probably end up the year around the 30,000 mark.”
The BTTG has also donated $400 each to Mareesa’s Cafe and The Eatery to go towards a pay-it-forward scheme.
The scheme sees community members recognised as in need of support able to access free coffee, other drinks and some food items.
BTTG committee member Audrey Ellis said the group was focused on supporting the local community, “especially in this time of need for many.”
“We reached out to local businesses and groups to see how we could help and The Eatery and Mareesa’s Cafe stepped forward to deliver the pay-it-forward scheme, which not only supports community members but also local business,” she said.
“Foothills Community Care’s Community Casseroles initiative was something we were very keen to contribute to. By working together to reduce inequities in the community, we can create improved conditions for all.”
BTTG treasurer Karl Williams said cooperation and mutual support between businesses and organisations were vital during difficult times.
“When these commercial alliances and personal friendships are established we often find that they go from strength to strength well after the crisis period has been passed,” he said.
“This is one of the key goals of BTTG – bringing us all together and building on that very community-minded spirit we have in the hills.”
Mr Barrington said it was teamwork between local businesses and organisations that allowed programs such as Community Casseroles to continue successfully this year.
“We couldn’t have done it on our own, it was just impossible with the amount we’ve had this year. We’ve had a whole lot of different businesses come on board,” he said.
“We’re just incredibly thankful this year for the support we’ve received.
“We’ve been amazed at how the community has stood up and got behind groups like ourselves.”
To find out more about Foothills Community Care, visit www.foothillscare.org.au.
To find out more about the Belgrave Tecoma Township Group, visit https://bttg.org.au/.
