Bega Valley Meals on Wheels are looking to boost their service after securing four new food freezers.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Wednesday, February 28 the volunteer-run food delivery service officially opened the new freezers at their Bega headquarters with their community supporters.
A ribbon was cut to open the new storage space and visitors celebrated afterwards with a group lunch.
The new freezers replace a tired walk-in freezer that suffered motor problems, causing a loss of food.
Bega Valley Meals on Wheels manager David Atkins said setting up the new food storage space had been a 12 month journey and came at a cost of over $40,000.
The update was achieved with a $15,000 donation from Bega Cheese, a $10,000 donation from the IMB Community Foundation, $5,000 from Tathra Lions, $1000 each from My Chef and Pambula Rotary and $500 from Merimbula Rotary.
“We’re a volunteer group that runs off the support of our local community,” Mr Atkins said.
“This has all come together through local money and support, which I think says a lot about the Bega Valley.”
Bega Valley Meals on Wheels services the whole shire from Bermagui to Eden, relying on over 200 volunteers to cater for over 400 clients.
A good freezer system is vital to Means on Wheels as all meals they supply need to be hard frozen for delivery.
Meals on Wheels volunteer Caroyln McColl runs the Pambula service on Fridays and said the freezers would provide a dramatic improvement for the volunteer team.
“The old walk-in was hard on the staff because we had to be in there a while sorting out the food, this is much safer for us” she said.
Ms McColl added that Meals on Wheels volunteers were the first point of contact for some of the region’s most vulnerable people, and ensuring volunteers were well looked after in turn ensured their clients were too.