The Anglican church community meal process will cease to exist in February next year after organisers were unable to meet insurance costs and program-delivery expectations.
Volunteer Pat Harrison was there on opening night, along with the woman behind the scheme Phyllis Stokes and another long-time volunteer Lorraine Doherty.
They all remembered the start of the evening meal offering in November 2005.
“I remember we had four inches of rain that night and five people came in the door,” Ms Harrison said.
“The next week it was 20 or so and we have regularly hit 100 people at our Christmas events through the years.”
Public liability insurance costs, along with an ageing participation base and the significant impact of COVID-19 has forced the church to abandon the community meal.
“We stopped in March 2020 because of the pandemic. We were planning to start again in July 2021, but the same week we advertised it the country went back into lockdown,” she said.
There hasn’t been a community meal since the pandemic, but it hasn’t stopped people from firing questions as to a return date at the organisers.
Walking down Allan St was often a tough task for Pat Harrison, who regularly had to explain the difficult nature of re-introducing the meal.
The community meal caters, on average, for about 60 people, during the school term, on a weekly basis — a flow of regularly attendees into the church hall at 6pm on a Monday.
“It is a community gathering that also serves those in need,” Ms Harrison said.
“Some people come along because they are on their own, others because they are in difficult circumstances.”
She and a handful of others have been involved in the program for its entire history, but the more stringent kitchen requirements and insurance costs have forced them into recess.
“When we wanted to get going again it was made clear that there were increased expectations, which were beyond the reach of our group,” she said.
“We tried to find a way to keep going, but eventually had to end the program.”
In spite of the decision Kyabram will by no means be left without support in the provision of food to the community.
“The Salvation Army will be taking over the meal service. KCLC offer a Foodshare and the community church do a Foodbarn as well,” Ms Harrison said.
“It’s a very sad situation for us having to cancel this, but there are other options for people.”
Ms Harrison said several of the community meal “regulars’’ were now residents of Warramunda and Sheridan, no longer able to attend.
“There were a great number of elderly people who patronised and assisted with the service,” she said.
“So many other community organisations have assisted us in so many ways.”
Kyabram Bakery supplied the bread on a weekly basis, then there was the Rotary and Lions Clubs, the gardening club, M&S Accounting, CWA, MEEOFF, Bendigo Bank, Kyabram Club, Campaspe Shire, Greater Shepparton Foundation, Kyabram butchers, and many others who contributed generously.
Goulburn Valley Grammar Year 9 students were among volunteers involved in the meal service, along with students from St Augustine’s College.
St Vincent’s used to collect what wasn’t used by the St Andrew’s group and distributed that to those in need.
The final community meal will be held on February 6 next year, at 6pm at St Andrew’s hall.
“It takes a bit of organising and people have so much on, so we have left it until after Christmas,” Ms Harrison said.
“It will give us an opportunity to say farewell and to thank you to people.”
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