Mitcham Community Meal in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Community group

Mitcham Community Meal

Locality: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 481 314 589

Address: 18 Edward Street Mitcham 3132 Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website: http://mitchamcommunitymeal.org

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25.01.2022 Im often conscious when people donate cash to us, that they know how its used. I know that people trust us, but its still good for them to get an idea. The Winter months we spend a lot more than in Summer . Tonight for example we bought a few Coles chickens to top up the 5 meals that a lovely lady had prepared. We had more people than we expected. Two blankets went out. A jacket was given to a guy just wearing a tee shirt. He was super appreciative. Four food hamper bags w...ere handed out. Next Sunday 32 more hampers will be handed out. None of these things are super exciting, but stuff that people need.Tonight I took an order from one of the guys for a new coat. The jacket he was wearing was torn, dirty and thin. Incidentally, that guy from Sunday didnt turn up tonight, I was prepared to give him all sorts of stuff. Hopefully we see him next Sunday All Saints Mitcham runs an op shop, I was told by the minister Penny today to please hand out to the guys what they need. (I think we will leave them a donation though) BTW All Saints have been SUPER supportive towards MCM these past 18 months, we are very grateful for everything they have done for us. See more

25.01.2022 Some nice testimonials about the midweek meal....

25.01.2022 Sad news, we have decided to stop serving take away meals during the Victorian lockdown period. This decision was not made lightly, but we feel that we cant ensure social distancing and a safe environment during this time. If you know of anyone who attends, can you please let them know. We will post updates on the website when we start up again. www.mitchamcommunitymeal.org

25.01.2022 MCM would like to acknowledge and thank Cr Prue Cutts and Cr Ben Stennett for their support towards us and our guests. You have demonstrated care and compassion to those in our community who needed a bit of extra love and support. We appreciated your consistent availability over your whole term and not just before an election. You guys are the real deal. We wish both you every success in the upcoming council elections.

25.01.2022 Special thanks to tonight's teams. They really came to the rescue after a last minute cancelation. Actually we had 3 seperate teams participate. Two seperate families and the main team 'We are the Union" (Eastern suburbs) A selection of amazing curries, chocolate mousse and cupcakes. Our guests were spoilt for choice. It was especially heart warming knowing that some of the kids had helped prepare desserts. They did a fine job handing them out too. Good parenting teaching you...r kids to think of others. So many giving and kind people doing their bit in the community. Thanks to our State minister Dustin Halse for him and his lovely family's participation as well. We had lots of feedback from out guests saying how much they enjoyed the meal. Well done all !!! EDIT : How could I forget to thank those lovely people who bought us many hundreds of dollars of take away food containers, cutlery and bags. You guys really dug deep on this one. So Good !!! See more

24.01.2022 Jane is doing the Vinnies outdoor sleep out. Thought I better give her one of the blankets that we normally hand out. Along with faithful dawg too. Relieved Im not a CEO and required to do this ;)

24.01.2022 A brand new team tonight representing Bayswater Primary. Thanks so much guys, and really wonderful having you along. Dinner was curry and rice, followed by some delicious fairy cakes. Outstanding ! Also thanks to the Elliot family for baking Anzac biscuits, our guests were spoiled tonight. Please come again :) PS Thanks to all those who bought up plastic bags.

24.01.2022 Im always amazed at how the right people come at the right time, and the right amount of meals are always prepared. Things just seem to work. Special thanks to Team Jo and Friends. Tonight they arrived with a choice of 50 veg, chicken, or Beef casseroles, followed by yummy rice pudding for dessert. You guys romped it in. Really well done. Thank you SOO much. Yesterday I had a random message from a lady offering to hand out home made Anzac cookies. She arrived with more th...an 200 already bagged. What a great idea. It was great to have Nanette join our team with the hand outs tonight. Great to see you after more than 30 years. Also special thanks to Kai for faithfully bringing down loaves of bread each week, and also Eric who often brings us rolls to serve out. I cant stop loving the wonderful and giving people in our community. See more

24.01.2022 Expanding to Wednesdays ? Last week a generous family distributed 6 home cooked meals to some of our fairdinkum on the streets, homeless guys. Since then another group of ladies has asked to do the same. Next Wednesday they will be distributing 6 meals also. This hasnt come about by our planning, but more so by the keenness of people to help others. This isnt a MCM initiative, just a natural evolution. Wouldnt it be great if somehow it just kept happening. Im wondering if we should start a roster just to make sure donors didnt double up on nights. Again not a MCM thing, just a community action response.

24.01.2022 Well done to the Barclay & Lukan families who prepared an absolute feast for our guests tonight! There was chicken & noodle stir fry for mains (which got lots of compliments) and then so many desserts i dont think i can remember them all! There were Italian donuts, pastries, loaves of sourdough, bread rolls.... that was just from our cooking team! On top of that we had a delicious chicken and sweetcorn soup served to guests waiting in line by Janice & friend plus bags of biscuits to take home by Alison and her daughter, bags of bread rolls and loaves of bread, Carly brought some fruit and other snacks and Jo handed out clothing including thermals and scarves which will come in handy in this cold weather! Our guests went home laden down with goodies tonight and very happy with their haul

23.01.2022 Its this time of year (well actually always) that we take a moment to appreciate our gorgeous volunteers. When we set out to start MCM, we thought we would be doing most of the work ourselves. This last few years has been a real eye opener for us. While we alway knew the people of Mitcham and surrounding areas were fantastic souls, we seriously underestimated how many, and how kind you actually are. We are CONTINUALLY blown away with your kindness, and generosity of spirit towards those doing it tough in our community. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your participation in so many various ways. Your involvement and contribution makes this world a much better place. Im sitting here clapping you guys. Thank you, thank you !!! PS let's have a massive celebratory party at the end of the year. You better come !!! :)

23.01.2022 Hey I need a volunteer to help me with the FoodBank run this Wednesday morning. Youll need to have a decent car for towing, as you will be picking up a trailer from my house at 830 and following me down to Dandenong. Your load will be about 400kg. We are picking up 800kg in total. We will then drive to the Food relief center in Blackburn to unload. We should be all finished by 11AM Whataya reckon?

23.01.2022 How is it we always get such great teams? The wonderful "Team Tess and Friends" tonight. They prepared a yummy lasagne along with muffins for dessert. 60 meals were handed out. Very well done!! It was our second night of handing out soup while people are queued up. Thanks so much to Julie and Cassie on soup duty. The pumpkin soup was a treat. We already have the next few weeks booked out for soup volunteers. Amazing !! A SPECIAL thanks goes out to the two ladies who bought us... $400 worth of blankets to hand out. Also the family that dug deep and gave us a sizeable cash donation. The people is this community are really quite amazing, So many givers and kind hearted people. Two of our rough sleepers were absent tonight. They have been given a 5 night hotel reprieve by Wellways and Wesley mission. I took one of the guys some food vouchers today so that he didnt have to go hungry while staying there. He told me that he was desperate for jocks and socks and thats what half the money would go on :) See more

23.01.2022 Hey all, we've had a team cancellation for next Sunday, due to a hospital emergency. Is there a brave team that would like to cook on Sunday? First preference will be given to any team that missed out thier session during the lockdown. Maybe youd just like to prepare the mains or a dessert? Please PM us if youre interested.

23.01.2022 You cant stay home if you dont have one. And you cant wash your hands and protect yourself if you dont have access to soap and water. This pandemic has la...id bare some of the deepest inequalities in our society not least the need for secure housing. Thats why back in April we made crisis accommodation in vacant hotels available to Victorians experiencing homelessness so that everyone had somewhere warm to rest and stay safe. And its why today we announced a $150 million package to support them to move from that temporary solution into long-term housing. Well cover the lease of more than 1,000 private rental properties, and provide tailored assistance to each tenant including mental health, drug and alcohol and family violence support services. Were also extending the current accommodation arrangements until April next year while everyone transitions to their new homes. Funding will also be delivered to metropolitan and regional homelessness agencies so that it can be directed exactly where its needed. This is an opportunity to break the cycle of homelessness and to provide security and stability to Victorians who desperately need it. Because now, more than ever, everyone needs a safe place to call home.

22.01.2022 Special thanks to the generosity of Pinchapoo for loaning us their van today. This allowed us to pick up 800 kg of food. Also thanks for their amazing service Australia wide in providing emergency hygiene packs. Kate and the team deserve high accolades for the work they do. Also thanks to my wonderful helper Aaron who is always willing to pitch in. You're a good man!

22.01.2022 Get this....When Rachels family asked her what she would like for mothers day, she replied, "Id like you to help me cook for the a local community meal"..... Well here they are and they excelled themselves. You guys rocked. Thanks so much for your participation tonight. Love your style !! Also tonight was our first night having a shower van. One-Voice and Crossway church sent out a brand new vehicle that has two inbuilt showers. This will be great during the Winter months h...elping some of our guys warm up and get clean at the same time. It might take a while for word to get around, but the one guy who used it tonight certainly had a nice LONG shower :) Also special thanks to Kym for bringing down some crochet craft works to hand out for mothers day. Also special thanks to the lady who bought out more home baked biscuits, you are spoling our guests so bad. Linda, love your style with the bread and other support you have given. SOOO many amazing people and donors. Small confession, in recent weeks I have lost track of everyone offering various helps, I just cant keep up. Blow me away amazing, all of you. ( Its the same family, so yeah no social distancing required ;) ) See more

20.01.2022 How good are you guys !! We are fully booked with cooking teams for the rest of the year. Other than the Christmas party date, and you BETTER be there !! :) In the next few days Ill start populating the roster with the soup and biscuit teams. I cant believe more than TWENTY have signed up for this since last night !!! (Less than 24 hours) Im going to have to pick these dates and groups by random draw. https://sites.google.com/view/mitchamcommunitymeal/roster

20.01.2022 So nice to be back at it. Great to see some of our regular guests. Our low numbers meant we could sit in the front garden and eat together. Pasta bake, mini cheese cakes and jelly. Special thanks to our soup team, biscuit team, hamper team and all those lovely people who pitched in. Love you all ! We even kicked a goal with one of our more vocal guests declaring that the meal was hot for a change ;)

20.01.2022 Special thanks to The Mabel Cafe for their generosity, good will, and support towards us. Love your style guys !! https://www.facebook.com/themabel/

19.01.2022 Special thanks to the Blackburn United Lodge. Recently Ian from the Freemasons contacted us out of the blue offering to help cover some of our running costs. We really appreciate this. While the Freemasons are known for their benevolence and secret handshakes, I think in this instance they gave us a golden handshake. Thanks Fellas !! :)

19.01.2022 I was expecting a quiet night but instead it was busier than usual. The wonderful Unihill church team prepared a delicious chicken rice and vegetables, followed by my favourite chocolate brownies. Great to have you along guys. (Sorry I forgot to take your photo) While people were queued and waiting for their meal Kim went around with warm cups of yummy soup. We love our Kim !! :) One of our regulars and often a rough sleeper has been getting around in sandals, Its painful to watch especially on these cold nights. Special thanks to Wendee Ping and Mal for sorting him out with some new shoes and socks. Thanks to all our other volunteers who are always contributing in different ways too.

19.01.2022 Today I spoke with a lady who is sleeping in a tent behind a group of shops in our area. Thankfully I was able to give her a brand new self inflating mattress, blankets, a small hamper and a Coles voucher (food only) I was also able to invite her to our Sunday and midweek meals. The point is, I had all these resources because of the generous gifts from you and others in our locality. It felt so good being resourced and able to help her. Ive often said, "were not allowed to ...have favourites", but between you and me, the homeless are mine. :) On another note, one of our favourite guys (you know him) was given a two week respite in temporary accommodation. That ended today, back out on the street he goes. What is that? Last week Deb, one of our volunteers delivered him and a few of his mates a meal up at Britannia Mall. To our surprise he offered us some home made yoyo biscuits. He told us with glee that he baked them at his temporary residence. Reckon we might sign him up to bake a batch for the rest of our guests once things get back to normal. See more

19.01.2022 Another fantastic night at Mitcham Community Meal. We started by warming the queue up with some delicious potato and leek soup. Then the Happy Travellers did a fantastic job giving away 60 mains of shepherds pie and over 70 desserts of brownies and slices. We also had donations of some beautiful hand knitted scarves and bags of groceries. Thanks so much to everyone who contributed, it was a great night

18.01.2022 The Farren Life Group from Crossway Church were a well-oiled machine tonight, serving up delicious pumpkin soup with garlic bread, spaghetti bolognese AND apple tart. You wouldn't think it was their first time, working with military-precision! Great job, guys!

18.01.2022 Tonight was the start of our 5:30 meals, just for these Winter months. We had the "50 Somethings" cook for us. Beef Ragu followed by a yummy dessert. Was really lovely to have you ladies along, especially since we also fit into the 50 something category ourselves. ;) Special thanks to the biscuit and soup teams, it was sweet that you bought your kids along and that they participated in the cooking experience. Nice drawings on the cookie bags too. Given the whole covid thin...g of recent, we have had to spread the tables a few meters from each other, and we appreciate everyone ensuring a safe distance. Special thanks to Carly, Aaron, and Janelle for preparing and handing out the food hampers each fortnight, everyone loves them. We have one guest, Clarko, many of you will know him, each week he lines up, and each week he doesnt eat our food. Hes a bit of a character, Ive asked him what he would like to eat, and in his raspy voice always says "Pies and Pasties", well anyway Carly had a pie for him to take away tonight, so I guess he was a happy man. Another one of our guests, Paul has quite a few family issues and comes down for 4 meals to take home. Because we had a few left over meals I asked if he would like to take an additional 4, in a teary voice he said yes. Not sure what was happening for him to be emotional over this, but nice that it meant something to him. Not sure why, but there was a real sense of peace in the air tonight (besides the police chopper earlier), thanks to everyone who contributed in so many ways. I just LOVE our Mitcham community and volunteers. Bless you all. Whoops no photo again, sorry. See more

17.01.2022 Special thanks to 'The Spice girls' (None wanted to be Sporty Spice) Last night they prepared a choice of 3 main meals along with chocolate brownies and fruit salad. Also thanks to our biscuit and hamper teams, not forgetting the bread delivery too. Last week we gave out 10 meals, this week we got out 32. Word is getting out. One guest who we have never seen before, told me that this was the fullest he had been in a long time. He was a thin looking guy, and I didnt get a chance to hear his story, but its always a great feeling knowing we are meeting a need like this. I was looking at the roster and it seems like we are only get started before we close for January. In some ways Id like to keep running but will probably be away. Hmm should we make a plan? Anyhow thanks to everyone who each week just makes this thing work.

16.01.2022 I nearly missed this, its National Volunteers week. Monday 18 May Sunday 24 May 2020 Okay this where I am YELLING with EXTREME appreciation towards our volunteers. I cant sing your praises any louder. We would achieve NOTHING if it wasnt for our kind hearted, loving, giving, generous, caring, and sympathetic volunteers. You guys make me want to cry all the time. Im so proud and in love with you all. Ok was that over the top?, well you guys are over the top people worth bragging and boasting about. Bless you all. :)

15.01.2022 I think we have finished compiling the roster. Can you please check to see if your name is there and you are available for that date. Thanks Janelle for doing the hard work. Im pretty sure I would have crumbled otherwise. https://sites.google.com/view/mitchamcommunitymeal/roster

15.01.2022 So proud of the Vermont girl guides tonight. They prepared a wonderful beef stew, rolls and carrot cake with cream cheese icing. What a great way to expose young people to another side of life. Well done team. On a personal note, I was especially proud of my eldest daughter, Amelia, and her boy friend Trent who were on soup duty tonight. Now they know where mum and dad disappear to most Sunday evenings. Special thanks to Carly and Janelle from Whitehorse relief centre who pre...pared and handed out hamper bags tonight. Also thanks to Eric and Kai who regularly deliver bread. Special thanks to Anne who handed home made scarves as well. As always, so many kind people all working to make our local community a better place. You all make me SO proud. A big shout out to Deb, Rob and Penny who ran the show tonight and gave us the night off. Love you guys. Oh and another shout out to the Mabel cafe for providing the soup tonight. See more

15.01.2022 Our guests braved the threat of thunderstorms to come and enjoy a chicken and chickpea curry and rice for mains and peach cake for dessert all prepared by the Oceans 12 Netball Girls. There was more than enough for everyone and we had loaves of bread, blocks of chocolate and bags of groceries for everyone. Mitcham community meal would also like to acknowledge the generosity of Two Brothers Cafe in Mitcham who donated the chicken for tonight’s meal, thank you so much!

15.01.2022 6 weeks ago we put out a request for recyclable shopping bags, and I think we had around a 100 or more dropped off. Well happy to say they have nearly all been used and given away with food hampers inside of them. We need another 100. If you have any that we could use, could you please drop them up to us next Sunday at 5:45 in the Coles undercover carpark. Ha ha I bet we get 200 knowing you guys ;)

14.01.2022 The other day we received an unsolicited call from Kat of Noel Jones real estate (Mitcham). They rang to offer us a donation towards MCM's running costs. Last night it was our honour to meet with Mike and Tara and their lovely family to accept their generous donation. For us it's less about the money, and more about a show of support in what we are doing. Thank you !! We really appreciate local businesses that looks for ways to improve our community. On top of this, they will be coming down to do a cooking session later this year. Can't wait !!!

14.01.2022 Hey volunteers, Janelle has kindly put together a roster based on the order of responses that came in the other day. We had 27 people put up their hand to volunteer within 16 hours of the initial request. WOW !! We will put this onto the online roster in the next day and also let you know. I hope the date picked suits? Please let us know if you are unable to do the date selected.

13.01.2022 Tonight was a mixed bag of contributors. The mains was done by our favourite APPS people, a selection of Shepards Pie, Vegetarian Shepards Pie, Curry and a Lasagne. 60 meals in all. Dessert was prepared by Mitcham Thunder Basketball club, some really lovely muffins. Then we had different people bring down loads of Easter eggs to hand out. Also a special thanks to Christine who dressed in her "cheer gear". We even had a friendly and supportive drive-by by our favourite boys... in blue, we really appreciate the way they stayed in the distance so that no one felt intimidated. I know I usually rave about the APPS people, but if it wasnt for them, Mitcham Community Meal would often struggle, they have really bailed out out at times. Such a blessing in our community. The last two Wednesdays we have had mini meals to some of our fair-dinkum homeless guys. Special thanks to the two families who have come along and spoilt them on those night. I reckon Mitcham would have to be the most blessed suburb in all of Australia with such wonderful volunteers. Sorry we dont have a group photo, but you can understand why ;) See more

10.01.2022 As you might be aware, the past 5 weeks we have been serving soup to our guests while they are queued up for thier main meal. This came about by accident and we really like the way its working. It also allows for more volunteer oportunities. Each week we need a team of one or two people to make and serve 7-8 liters of soup. We are looking to fill the next 4 weeks. If you are interested, please send us a private message. It is our hope that the voluneers provide the soup at thier own expense :). We are also offering the same opportunity for people who would like cook biscuits for our guests to take away. What do you reckon?

10.01.2022 Its always nice to have Vermont girls guides come and cook for us. This will be their third time with us now. The group was so big that they came and went in two shifts, that's why we have two group photos. We love that a big part of Girl Guides is serving and helping others, well done !! Thank you Carol for leading us with a short song of thanks before the meal, a nice touch. Special thanks to the soup and biscuits teams, we REALLY appreciate your wonderful and cheery contributions. (Apologies that I didn't get your photos tonight, next time for sure) We love you guys. It was nice to meet and chat with you as well. We appreciate the volunteering that you do for other groups similar to ours, you are so generous.

09.01.2022 Today we had a sting operation in Britannia Mall. We had 3 teams of cooks deliver home cooked meals and a lot of volunteers doing deliveries to many of our guests. Meals came in, and meals went out. It was all over in a matter of minutes. Thirty five meals delivered, and 30 food hampers given out. Thanks to all those who participated. Thanks to our cooking teams Crossway church, Antonio Park Primary School parents group (APPS), and Neval. Thanks to our ladies on the ground Ca...rly and Deb. Thanks to Cr Ben and Cr Prue for participating with deliveries and connecting with our frail and lonely folk. Special thanks to One Community Church who always put our hampers together, not having to think about the hampers each week is a huge blessing. Once again such a caring and loving community where people of all walks of life get together and show love care and support to those doing it tough in the neighborhood. In the midst of darkness (Lock-down) its so nice to have beacons of light, brighten peoples day. Heart warming !! See more

09.01.2022 Special thanks to Ping for establishing Meals for Mates. Its a more casual meal for 5 or 6 of our homeless in Mitcham. One family just cooks and delivers 5 meals to Britaniana mall every Wednesday evening. This is week 6 and its going really well. https://sites.google.com/view/mealsformates/home

09.01.2022 The other day I received an unsolicited call from a guy offering to give us money. All the time I thought it was going to be a scam, and braced myself for when he was going to ask for my bank details. I'm so glad I wasn't rude and cut him off because as it turned out he was legit. MCM would like to thank Benny and the team at The Forest Hill Commonwealth Bank for it's $500 donation towards the running of Mitcham Community Meal. Once again a testament to the kind-hearted spirit of the people in Whitehorse and surrounding suburbs.

08.01.2022 So you thought you wouldnt hear from us for the next 6 weeks hey. Yeah right !!! Even though we have stopped serving meals, we have partnershipped with a few other Whitehorse churches and groups to put together a food relief pantry. Many of our guests have already started to use this resource. If you know of anyone doing it tough can you please refer them to this link. Tell them to mention Mitcham community meal. We have recieved quite a few emails and messages from our volunteers wondering about our guests and how they are coping. Let me assure you we are in contact with our neediest and they have not been forgotten about. We are able to give them what they need. (One on one) ;) Well keep you informed on whats happening during the next 6 weeks. http://flr.ms/3Tt

08.01.2022 I'm looking for someone to help me do the food bank run Tuesday morning. They will need a car with a towball. 9 - 11:30 The pay is great....the knowledge that you contributed to helping others who are struggling a bit in life Sorry for the short notice, let me know.

08.01.2022 Tonight was just plain hectic, but in a good way. So many volunteers and giving people. Lets start with the team, "Local Mamas" 6 individual families all cooked up 10 meals each. Thats a smart way to do it. Well done Mamas (and their families) You guys excelled yourselves. I see they have already booked another session this year. Cant keep a good mama down !! :) Carly turned up with soup to hand out to people while they queued up. Reckon she gave out 6 litres of soup. Janell...e handed out lots of hamper bags too. After last weeks story, we had lots of people turn up with blankets and coats. I doubted they would all go, but they did. Another lady turned up with her two daughters who had baked biscuits to hand out. Dont you love this kind of parenting. The One Voice shower van came again. Thanks guys. The boys in blue also drove past our table and stopped to congratulate us on what we were doing too. Another GREAT night all round !! EDIT: How could I forget, one car slowly drove past, the guy wound down his window and said, do you take donations? I asked "do you know about us and what we do? " He answered no but held out his hand with a 20 dollar note. I think he just liked seeing community in action. I eventually explained who we were. See more

08.01.2022 We love it when the Nonnas cook for us. Everyone knows its going to be a great Italian feed on those nights. Since they all cooked in their own homes today, we are recycling the photo of the last time they came to MCM. Tonight our guests lined up 2m apart in the Coles undercover carpark. It all went very smoothly. Special thanks to Keiron, Kai, and Eric for dropping off the bread and lollies. It was especially nice to have Jennie and Jess along handing out meals. To those w...ho have donated blankets and self inflating air beds in the past, tonight we handed out 4 blankets and one air bed. (Winter is coming) Also to those who have donated cash, I have bought a stack of $10 restricted spending Coles vouchers. I am selectively handing them out to our most desperate on the street folk. (Enough to buy another meal later in the week) Love you nonnas, such kind hearts. See more

07.01.2022 Hey all, we have 30 small hamper packs for distribution. If you know of anyone who is in need of food, please let us know via PM. They will be ready for pick up this Sunday at 4PM in Britannia Mall Mitcham. It is important that you contact us before coming to pick one up. You can come to pick one up for someone you know or for yourself. Because we dont have many, we do ask that only those in real need take one. :)

07.01.2022 We have decided to recommence with meals as of next Sunday Nov 1 at 5:30PM We have no idea how many guests will come. I'm thinking as low as 10, but we will cater for 20. All the meals will be served outside. The meals will be take away, but we will have chairs spaced apart in small groups to meet with the current covid rules. Its all going to be a bit of an experiment with numbers etc. I must say Im quite excited to get back into this as we now have 3 rosters in place for d...ifferent teams to participate. A team for soup duty, the main meal, and takeaway biscuits. We also hope to ramp up our take away hampers too. Another volunteer will be running a table with second hand clothes in the next while as well. This is going to mean LOTS more opportunities for people to volunteer. Its going to be interesting rebuilding from the ground up. We are looking forward to tapping into your participation and love. Bless you amazing people of Mitcham and beyond ;) PS I need to apologize for my tardy communication during this lockdown period. I think I might have had a mental lockdown happening over the same period :)

07.01.2022 In the usual spirit of our wonderful community, we have had multiple offers of food and help. This Sunday we will be handing out refrigerated meals ready to be heated up. We will also have frozen meals, as well as hamper packs. Two of our ladies will be in Britannia mall at 4PM (Just up from All Saints, near Coles) handing the meals out to whoever wants them. If you know of anyone who needs this kind of help and you would like to deliver them a meal, please send me a PM. It is important that we get an idea of numbers so please let me know beforehand. We also ask that once you grab a meal/meals, that you leave the area as soon as possible. (We dont want any crowds) We will chat with you in safer times. Blessings to all involved.

06.01.2022 I did a calculation the other day...Because we are now handing out take away meals only, we are spending $25 each week on containers cutlery and bags. That works out to a more than $1000 per year. Fortunately The Nunawading Lions Club have come to the rescue and purchased us 1000 take away containers, bamboo sporks, and paper bags. Everything they have provided is quickly biodegradable. The cardboard containers are lined with PLA (Corn starch) and will hold liquid for 24 ho...urs, but after that take only a few weeks to fully decompose. Its the same with the sporks and paper bags too. Its a win win win here, we get to hand out meals to our guests, we keep a low carbon footprint, and we get to have wonderful people like the Nunawading Lions Club join along side with us. So good !! We look forward to having the Lions join us in a fortnight handing out slices of their famous Christmas cake. (Awkward photo of us keeping social distancing. Anyone got a tape measure? ;) ) See more

06.01.2022 As you will be aware we had to close our doors for the lock-down this Sunday, but this didn't dampen the local community care. Tonight we got out 13 care hampers and some Coles food vouchers, enough to buy a BBQ chicken each. Thanks to our lock-down angels, Carly Ebony, Deb, and Cr Prue. Between them they made deliveries to houses in need and those who turned up for a meal. No one went without. Cr Prue told me of an 85 year old man who was blown away when she turned up with a hamper. He struggles to look after his wife who has advanced dementia. Thanks so much ladies for your kind hearts. Special mention to the APPS team that was ready for cooking action too. Sadly restrictions meant that we had to postpone this lovely team of mums from Antonio Park Primary School. You're NOT off the hook, we WANT you this year, PLEASE !!

05.01.2022 Mind you, I have been to visit some of the guys in these hotels, dont get the idea its high living. Some are pretty grotty. Glad they have a warm bed and a roof over thier head though.

05.01.2022 So many people doing so many nice things tonight. Thanks to Team Kerri and friends" Fried rice and a choice of fish, chicken or veg, followed by a selection of bakery treats for dessert. (60 meals )Then we had Shaz come down with home made biscuits for all. The Nunawading Lions club was also serving their famous Christmas cake. Another lady came down and dropped off a large box of toilet paper for all as well as bath towels. Oh and lets not forget the One Voice shower truck being there for its second week now. Special thanks to Jess and Jenny dropping in to help, that was a nice touch Jess when you sat and chatted with that guy with no shoes, well done you. What a bunch of fabulous people all round!

04.01.2022 As you may be aware, we have started a mid week feed for 5 of our guys. Its nothing more than a meal hand out, a quick hello and one family or person providing the meal for that night. Ping has the next 10 weeks already booked with volunteers. Anyhow this post was written by last nights volunteer, Mel........ What a privilege to be part of this amazing calling. I met Ben at 5:30pm tonight feeling quite inadequate with my 4 meals in my Coles bag. He wasnt sure if anyone was ...coming tonight, but as it turns out, four beautiful people were there so grateful to have a meal tonight. We began chatting as I handed the meals over to them. The thing that stood out and was so profound for me is that we think we are serving them but in fact, they are blessing us beyond what we could possibly imagine. I asked the group how they were doing but one young man was insistently polite in wanting to know how I was doing at this time. I have a roof over my head, a warm bed, dinner waiting at home, my health is good and my family are safe, how could I possibly not be doing well today! Hes genuine concern blew my mind. We dont serve them they serve to show us just how good life is for us. I held back my tears because God knows Im waterworks 5.0! My tears were not for them but for me! They were for every time I grumbled and complained about the insignificant and trivial roadblocks a day may bring. Tonight was such a privilege to serve but an even greater humbling reminder of our daily privileges that so often go unnoticed. Ping thank you for your boldness in sharing this group on Facebook!

04.01.2022 Special thanks to Viv, Em, and Aaron for helping us do the foodbank run today. Your help saved us big time.

04.01.2022 This is the fourth time we have had 'The Nonas' come and cook for us. They are always a hit. Everyone knows its going to be a great feed when they are on. A true Italian stuffing :) . Im told they cooked 65 schnitzels, loads of baked potatoes and vegetables, as well as an assortment of baked delights for dessert. It all went like hot cakes. One guy, Paul, who arrived with no shoes again, went up for thirds :) We just LOVE our nonas !! Also special thanks to Carly and Janelle for their work each week providing our guests with hampers and love. The silent achievers for sure. Special thanks to Kai for bringing the loaves of bread each week, and our lovely biscuit bakers.

02.01.2022 The wonderful Team Taggerty cooked tonight, representing 1st Heatherdale Scout club. Thanks so much for your generosity towards MCM and our guests. "Guests being an odd word to use given that this is week 4 of serving them in the car-park before asking them to hurriedly leave. We cant wait until we can sit and chat with everyone again. Tonight 46 meals were served by Team Taggerty, along with hamper packs courtesy of Stairway Church, AllSaints Mitcham, and One Community Church.

01.01.2022 We often have people offer us money and even though we graciously accept it, we prefer for our generous donors to buy the things we need on our behalf. We feel this offers a better transparency in running MCM and it also give the donors a bit of ownership in knowing what they have contributed to. In the past our donors have bought us tables, chairs, kitchen equipment, food, cutlery, crockery, blankets, air beds, food vouchers, the list goes on. Due to us only able to do tak...e away meals (covid restrictions), we are currently churning through take away containers and cutlery. We are using the environmentally friendly compostable containers and bamboo cutlery. While we would love to totally escape the idea of a throw away society, we realize bio containers are a good starting point, though still not perfect. We need 1000 of these https://www.greenpack.com.au//32oz-brown-paper-noodle-box- and 1200 of these https://www.greenpack.com.au//wooden-cutlery-plus-napkin-s and 1000 of these https://www.greenpack.com.au//2-flat-invisa-bag-219-x-200m We do have the finances to buy them ourselves but I just thought Id put out the offer if anyone, or group, would like to purchase some of these for us.

01.01.2022 A nice surprise !! Today we received an email from a family that would have normally cooked for us by this stage, They bought 39 x $10 Coles vouchers (Food only) to donate to MCM. Ha ha they would have bought 40 but they took all the Coles stock :) They have asked for anonymity as do most of our donors. Given the chance I'd love to shout their praises from roof tops, as with our other donors too. You guys rock !!... Just so you know, we use Coles vouchers sparingly and normally prefer to hand out food in the form of meals or hampers. The vouchers we do hand out, can only purchase food items. We asses how many are needed in each situation, and we hand them out to our neediest, and only when they are in a dire situation. Loving our wonderful Whitehorse residents, amazing people.