By Jed Lanyon
Healesville Community Bank Branch has purchased 100 meals for those in need through Healesville Inter-church Community Care Inc (HICCI).
The donation was made to My Little Kitchen’s ongoing initiative where the local community can pay forward a meal and the cafe will prepare the dish and supply it to HICCI for home delivery.
Healesville Community Bank board member Caroline Evans said the initiative by My Little Kitchen was a “wonderful idea”.
“We wanted to find a way to connect with them, so we bought 100 meals which will be distributed around the community,” she said.
Ms Evans said the decision to donate to the homeless support organisation in HICCI was an easy one.
“They’ve been an integral part of the fabric of our community for a lot of years now and at the bank, we admire the work they do in supporting the disadvantaged and those struggling in our community through a whole sweep of services that they provide.
My Little Kitchen owner and head chef, Ben Arnold, said the response from the community in paying forward meals had been “awesome”.
“The community has donated about 64 meals over the last four or five weeks, which we produced last Sunday (11 October) and distributed on Tuesday (13 October),” he said.
“It’s been pretty heartwarming to see the community consistently contribute. Loads of customers come in and buy their coffee and then they will put forward a community meal. It’s pretty damn impressive.”
HICCI executive officer Alsion Gommers said the organisation delivers about 60 meals per week to vulnerable community members.
Prior to the pandemic, HICCI would put on weekly meals at Dinner @ Darron’s, feeding those in need and promoting social inclusivity.
With that now on hold, they have pivoted to a home delivery meal service to assist the elderly and support those sleeping rough in a difficult time.
“How lucky we are where we live to have the community support we do,” Ms Gommers said.
“We’re here to help anyone in need, we’re not here to judge, just to help.
“These are times where many people may have never needed our help before but they do now.”
Ms Evans spoke about the importance of having a Community Bank Branch in town.
“We are really lucky to have a Community Bank Branch here in Healesville. It gives the community a chance to create a business, which then puts funds back into the community. 80 per cent of profit goes back into the community.
“The more community members in Yarra Glen, Healesville and surrounds that are banking with us, the more we will have to give back to the community groups like HICCI. It’s just a really fantastic opportunity for people to give back simply by banking with their Community Bank Branch.”
To learn more about how HICCI can provide support, call: 5911 6000.
