Craigieburn Salvation Army looking for chef to step up to the plate
THERE’S just one thing missing from the menu at Craigieburn Salvos — a volunteer cook to keep a vital weekly community lunch alive.
The Interlink Drive charity has been serving up meals every Thursday for the past two years, welcoming people from all walks of life to sit around and have a chat.
But the kitchen has been closed for the past month after the cook fell ill.
Salvation Army captain Peter Brookshaw said they were now desperately looking for a volunteer chef to keep the orders coming in each week at noon.
“We don’t have anyone to co-ordinate (it) at the moment,” he said.
“We’re looking for someone that’s reliable, consistent and available.”
Each week up to 40 people ranging from retirees and school groups to those feeling lonely or isolated attend the lunch.
“We (serve) a couple of courses and it’s just really a chance to have these people connecting,” Mr Brookshaw said.
“I think sometimes we just get so busy from day to day and it’s good to have an opportunity where people can come together.”
For Di Morabito, the Salvos’ lunches have given her a new lease on life.
While she can’t recall how she found out about the program, she remembers the impact one meal and dessert had made. “I thought, ‘Wow, this is an amazing thing for local people’,” Ms Morabito said.
“They cook, they share with you and it’s all free.
“Everybody was just so, so wonderful and welcoming.”
The retiree and former Salvationist said the lunch became a social saviour, so much so that she’s gone full circle and commits her time to helping not only with lunches but at the Salvos’ thrift shop.
“It’s just part of my life and it’s keeping me alive,” Ms Morabito said.
“If I hadn’t gone to that particular lunch that day … I don’t know what I’d be doing now.
“It’s a way of getting people together but it’s also letting people know that they’re not alone, that there’s someone they can talk to, someone out there that really wants them to be there.”
If you have hospitality experience and can help, email peter.brookshaw@aus.salvationarmy.org
Source: The Hume Leader, Natalie Savino, July 27th 2015
Originally published as: Craigieburn Salvation Army looking for chef to step up to the plate
