By Parker McKenzie
Cheese and crackers are already prepared as guests begin to arrive at Upwey Baptist Community Church at 4pm on a Monday night.
Volunteers in the kitchen busily cut vegetables and prepare casseroles to be served to the 100-plus people who will either eat at the tables set up in the building or take a meal away with them.
Tonight is like every other Monday for the vast cast of volunteers who keep Foothills Community Care running, except for one important milestone: it marks the 300th meal they have served at the Upwey Community Dinners.
Foothills Community Care founder Stephen Barrington said the meals started as an offshoot of the successful community meals he has held in Ferntree Gully for the last 17 years.
“We started here in 2015; it’s a great partnership with the church. They were wondering what to do with the building — they wanted to use it for the community — but didn’t know how to go about it themselves,” he said.
“It was the right connection at the right time. They’ve opened their doors up, they’ve allowed us to be here for the past seven years and throughout Covid, we basically took over the place because no one else was allowed here.”
Stephen explained how Foothills Community Care first started 21 years ago when he put on a Christmas lunch for people who had nowhere else to go.
“It’s about good food, but more than that it is about connection and belonging. People, particularly those who feel they’re excluded normally, can come here and have a meal in a safe and nurturing environment,” he said.
“For some guests, it might be the only meal in a week or even in a month where they actually sit down with someone else and feel safe.”
One of those guests is Tom, who was attending the Ferntree Gully meals on a Wednesday night when Stephen and Foothills decided to launch this one closer to home.
“I can sit at home and cook my own meals, but there are friends here,” Tom said.
“I’d go mad if I sat home, there are good meals here and it is important I get a couple of good ones a week.”
There are different types of people who attend the meals. There are people like Tom, who need connection and friendship in an increasingly distant world. There are also rough sleepers, people struggling with rent and bills and single parents.
The volunteers are just as diverse. There are the elderly and retired, students and adults, but what unites them is an eagerness for helping those in need.
Meals coordinator Shannon Kay said she started volunteering during the pandemic, where Foothills was delivering up to 800 meals a week.
“We prepare up to 200 meals and we usually feed about 40 people seated now. Up to 100 more usually take takeaway containers and then the rest of the leftovers go into our freezer and support our home delivery program,” he said.
“Now it is starting to feel a little more settled than it did during those years.”
Stephen said there are around 250 people who volunteer with Foothills Community Care each year across all their programs.
“Did we think we’ve been doing it so long? Probably not, but it’s become like part of the local community’s fibre,” he said.
“If there’s someone in the local community that just needs an extra hand up, they’ll let them know about us. It is the same with people who want to have an impact on people in the local area through supporting up or volunteering.”
For guests at the community meal, doors open at 4pm, where they can join for a cup of tea or coffee and a chat, followed by main meals being served at 5.15pm and finishing with dessert. They can also take fresh fruit, vegetables and staples donated by the community when they leave too.
Guest coordinator Matt Crosby has been a mainstay of the meals since they first launched, being onsite for “290 something” of the 300 meals.
“It gives me a place where I can connect with the community, but also I am fairly privileged and lucky with the way that I grew up. It’s just important that I find a way that I can give back,” he said.
“Lots of different types of people that come now compared to when we first started but it’s still a great sense of community and respect with everyone that comes.”
Foothills Community Care runs the Upwey Community Meal every Monday night at the Upwey Baptist Church and the Ferntree Gully Community Meal at the Ferntree Gully Girl Guides Hall on Wednesdays.
For more information, visit foothillscare.org.au
