The organisation is changing lives one meal at a time
In Christmas 2014, a group of friends came together to give back to the community with a one-off dinner service at Green Park in Sydney, with the idea of providing a meal to people in need.
The fulfilment and joy that surrounded that one-off idea made the friends repeat the experience, and just a month later, they were back for good with ‘One Meal – It Makes a Difference’.
Since then, this not-for-profit organisation has provided thousands of meals, reaching the hearts and tables of people in need with delicious hot dinners across the Northern Beaches and other parts of Sydney.
The services are provided weekly with the help of sponsors and the hard work of volunteers who dedicate their time providing food, and cooking or delivering meals.
Cromer local Christine Robbins has actively participated in community kitchens since 2015 and has been part of One Meal since its inception in the Northern Beaches in 2020. Her love of cooking and passion for helping others is what motivated the 73-year-old to dedicate her time to the organisation as a volunteer and treasurer.
One Meal volunteer
Her involvement with One Meal started during COVID-19 when she started cooking hundreds of meals in her garage, turning it into a makeshift kitchen.
“I had been volunteering with the Community Pantry, and that was when I met Kim (Williams). And we decided that we needed to do more. That’s when we got together with One Meal,” she recalls.
Now, Christine coordinates the ‘hot meal’ program, looking after incoming food donations to ensure quality and freshness, and oversees a weekly One Meal open pantry at a local RSL.
Kim, a Collaroy Plateau local and co-ordinator of One Meal Northern Beaches, says people ‘feel value’ when receiving the meals, and they, as an organisation, feel committed to the cause.
“We are committed to the service of food, and we are committed to the volume that we are promising the community. There are no ‘buts,’ ‘ifs,’ ‘maybes’. There won’t be anything in our way to stop us doing that.”
There are many ways that volunteers can participate in the organisation. Cooking hot meals, collecting donated food, working in a warehouse space facilitated by St Vincent De Paul, delivery rounds, or even doing admin are just some of the tasks that can be performed.
And everyone can participate if they have the time and willingness to give back. A lot of seniors were involved and shared their experiences with the community.
“We love tapping into that knowledge base and also that energy that’s just sitting there,” Kim enthuses. “And the reliability (of seniors) because some of the younger people have got other commitments, like children, whereas the older people have more free time. One of our ladies who runs one of our community meals is 86.”
Chris also says that volunteering gives people the opportunity to have fun, meet new people and connect with others.
“There are lots of people having fun. We certainly would recommend it as a great place to come and to take your mind off other things that you may have focused on at the present stage.
“It’s just a lovely place to come to and meet other people and just help,” says Chris.