By Mikayla van Loon
Access to food is a basic human right and services like The Mustard Tree Op Shop and Cafe’s foodbank are ensuring people from across the region eat well in times of crisis.
Operating Monday to Friday by appointment, the foodbank currently sees an average of 90 people a month, representing just themselves or an entire family.
In June, staff members saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of Emergency Food Relief appointments in comparison to May and were expecting similar numbers for July.
Op Shop operations manager Lisa Vincent said working alongside other organisations in the Yarra Ranges, often services will refer clients to each other to ensure they are getting the support they need.
“Every month there’s always a few regulars and a mix of new people because we’ve got the Lilydale Corrections so we provide assistance to people newly out of prison that need a little starter pack,” she said.
“There’s a few agencies in the area and we do refer back and forth a little bit. Some more focused on housing and some more focused on community engagement and some food. So we all try to help each other out.”
Ms Vincent said during the pandemic lockdowns, the need for food seemed to decrease somewhat with people supported by the government but since that ended there have been different demographics of people presenting to the foodbank.
“Now that aid is slowing down and getting restructured, things are perhaps picking up a little bit and definitely with the rising cost of food that will have an impact.
“What’s been difficult for us is supply. Sometimes we haven’t been able to get the things that we would normally be able to provide. So that’s been a challenge or something that we’ve noticed specific to now.”
An emergency food relief service like this one, run as an extension of the Lilydale Baptist Church, Ms Vincint said is a critical part of each community, particularly when homelessness remains somewhat invisible.
“People find themselves, through no fault of their own, it might be a domestic violence situation, it might be a change in a loss of job but people find themselves in that position where they’re just unable,” she said.
“The perception of it might be that they are just homeless or struggling with mental illness or generally not able to cope but some of the people that come in here you just you wouldn’t even know [are struggling].”
Homelessness has been an issue in the Yarra Ranges Shire for quite a while now and Ms Vincent said mental health issues and drug addiction issues all feed into that growing need.
Being at the end of the train line and on “the cusp of city and country,” Ms Vincent said the foodbank services quite a large area, reaching people who travel from the regional parts of the shire by public transport because the smaller towns perhaps can’t facilitate such a large relief centre.
In addition to food relief, Ms Vincent said The Mustard Tree hosts two free community meals each week and offers free haircuts once a month to the community in need, alongside shower facilities at the ministry office.
Thursday dinner – Foodstop free community dinner hosted by Discovery Church 6pm to 8pm.
Friday Lunch – Community Table hosted by Lilydale Baptist Church 12pm to 2pm
First Monday (monthly) – free haircuts form Gail of Purple Mist Salon 12pm to 2pm
Daily Foodbank service including a shower – Monday to Friday 10am to 2pm by appointment 9735 3500.
The Op Shop, Cafe and Foodbank can be found at 3/28 John St, Lilydale.
