Above: Travis tucks into a meal at the community kitchen in Cranbourne on Sunday.THE Cranbourne community rallied around Sunday’s first ‘soup kitchen’ to give those in need a feed.
Fifty dinners were served at the community kitchen, run by volunteer group The Singh Family at the Casey Cafe.
The Singh Family and the cafe’s owner Phil Sealey, along with hospitality students from the William Angliss Institute, arrived at 1pm on the day to help prepare for the meal.
Volunteers from the Cranbourne Information Support Service and students from Cranbourne Secondary College also took time out from their busy weekends to help out.
Cranbourne MP Jude Perera said the kitchen’s organisers had been overwhelmed with support, including bread donated from Bakers Delight in Cranbourne North, with dishes of rice, vegetables, salad, yoghurt dips, and chips served by William Angliss students.
“The Cranbourne Community Consortium will now sit down with The Singh Family and look at driving further initiatives in supporting our community of Cranbourne,” Mr Perera said.
He said the next community kitchens to kick off would be in Frankston North and then Carrum Downs. Casey councillor Steve Beardon said it had been great to help out so many people, and he was even more pleased at the commitment to continue on with the free community kitchen.
Cr Beardon said the group was now looking at a number of initiatives to help finance the kitchen through corporate donations, sausage sizzles and ward fund donations. “It’s proved itself to be more than just a free meal, but as another avenue to listen and help with crisis situations,” he said.
“This is what reaching out is.”
