On Wednesday mornings, you can find Robyn and a small team of volunteers bustling around a tiny cottage located behind St Philip’s Anglican Church in Bungendore. The team organise dry goods onto shelves, re-stock the refrigerator, arrange eggs and produce donated from backyard gardens and gently greet all that arrive with genuine kindness.
“We say hello and give them a little explanation of how the service works, then say ‘Go on and fill a bag’. There is no judgement here, we don’t operate that way.”
Begun in response to the 2019 bushfires by Chloe and Rev’d Michael Pailthorpe of St. Philip’s Church, the Food Hub and nearby op shop were both initially run out of the cottage. While the op shop has developed into Phil’s Emporium and moved to the larger hall next door, the Food Hub remains in the cottage. This quieter, more private setting has been essential as the Covid-19 pandemic and cost of living crisis have led to ongoing elevate demand for the service.
Robyn, who has been a volunteer coordinator for the Food Hub for four years said that when she started, the hub “was getting maybe five or six people each time they opened, whereas now we get 12-15 plus”. This number, however, only reflects a portion of the people being fed, as to fairly distribute the limited resources the hub provides one bag per family per week.
Much of the hub’s offerings are supplied through donations from the local community and the rest are purchased through proceeds from Phil’s Emporium, which is run in partnership by Anglicare and St Philip’s Anglican Church. Recently, the Food Hub team has collaborated with Anglicare’s Emergency Relief team to gain access to additional resources such as Food Bank and the Animal Rescue Cooperative (for donations of pet food). “That’s been really great.” said Robyn. “We go through an enormous amount of pet food. People look after their animals before they look after themselves.”
Many of the volunteers at the Food Hub also volunteer at the op shop, and this crossover helps customers get directed to the Food Hub as needed, and vice versa. “While we have many regular local clients”, said Robyn, “we get visitors from the Bungendore Showground camping area and the Warri Reserve free campsite. As the weather gets colder, we send them to the op shop to see about blankets and winter clothing”.
Robyn and the team know their regular clients well and help fill the gap when a bit extra is needed. “There is a lady down the road whose daughter usually looks after her but is away for about a month, so we are putting together hampers and will bring them around to her door.”
It truly is a community effort. When Robyn approached the local schools to inform them of the service so that struggling families could be made aware, both the preschool and high school organised ongoing pantry appeals to support the hub. “We went to them to provide a service and now they are helping us! It is really lovely.”
Robyn and the team of volunteers are motivated to help others, but also enjoy their time together. “I just love having the connection into the Bungendore community. And I love getting together with these guys”, said Robyn. “It is as much a social thing for me, and I can have a social activity plus I’m doing something positive in the process.”
