A local church has once again made its annual donation to a Hills-based food relief service as the cold of winter settles in.
Belgrave South Baptist Church has donated over 1369 cans to the Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief Service Inc. in Belgrave this week, the most the church has ever given.
Parishioner Peter Joseland helped with the delivery with his grandchildren this year and said DRERS were very excited and grateful for the amazing donation from the Church.
“Each May, our Church has a can drive with the aim of achieving 1000 cans for DRERS,” he said.
“This year we easily achieved our goal.”
CEO of DRERS, Tania Bevan, said the annual drive is immensely helpful.
“We provide the cans to people who need them – we are really grateful to have the church’s generous support,” she said.
Treasurer at DRERS, Kevin Gray said the drive this year was the most the church has ever raised for donations, at a time when many local families don’t have enough food.
“It’s a privilege to help,” he said.
Belgrave South Pastor Julian Holdsworth said the drive grows from strength to strength every year and this year he was blown away by the generosity shown.
“We are fortunate to have what others do not,” he said.
Reflecting on the vulnerable cohort doing it tough in the cold, Pastor Holdsworth said the drive in May also brings the church together as the parish collected a huge array of quality canned goods to pass along.
“We need to communicate that they are not forgotten,” he said.
DRERS is a non-profit volunteer organisation providing emergency relief in the Dandenong Ranges that assists people facing crisis with illness, unemployment, family violence, homelessness, and other hardship since 1998.
Coming in at a count of 1369 for 2025, the Belgrave South Baptist Church began doing it’s winter canned food drive for Dandenong Ranges Emergency Relief Service many years ago.
“The target number of cans started to increase and continues to increase each year,” said Ms Bevan.
This year, DRERS has already given out $24,100 in food vouchers compared to this time last financial year, when they gave out $18,315 in food vouchers – highlighting the greater need for food relief in the community.
Annual support from organisations like the Belgrave South Baptist Church enables the organisation to continue assisting the vulnerable community struggling with the cost of living.
