New vehicle boosts fresh food program

PICTURED:  Rotary Club of Mornington President Pam Hall, Fresh Food Program Coordinator Shelley Dewerson-Bogue, Mornington Toyota General Manager Michael McInerney, Community Bank Mount Martha Community Liaison Officer Gary Sanford and John Schubert from Community Bank Mount Martha.

A new dedicated van will help the Mornington Community Support Centre rescue food for locals in need, thanks to Mornington Toyota and the Rotary Club of Mornington, Vic.

The demand for the Fresh Food Program at the Mornington Community Support Centre continues to rise each week, reflecting the growing needs of the local community.

The centre rescues food that would otherwise end up in landfill from local supermarkets, bakeries and producers, distributing it to more than 100 families each week. The rescued food is also used to prepare meals served in the centre’s meeting room café, which provides approximately 800 plates of food from Monday to Thursday.

Until now, staff and volunteers have generously used their personal vehicles to support the program’s logistics. However, with increased demand driven by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, the need for a dedicated food transport vehicle became critical.

Recognising the importance of this initiative, Mornington Rotary committed to funding a dedicated van.

This is such an essential program for our community and the club was proud to support it,” said President Pam Hall.

Following discussions with Gary Sanford from Community Bank Mount Martha, a joint funding arrangement was established.

“This is exactly the type of community initiative our bank is proud to support, made possible by the continued growth of our customer base,” Gary said.

Mornington Toyota, through General Manager Michael McInerney, identified the Toyota HiAce as the ideal vehicle to meet the centre’s needs and supplied the van. Mornington Toyota has also generously committed to ongoing service and maintenance of the vehicle.

Michael officially handed over the keys to Fresh Food Program Coordinator Shelley Dewerson-Bogue in late June. The centre also extends heartfelt thanks to Progress Signs for providing custom signwriting for the van.

“This van is a tremendous asset to our Fresh Food Program and the dedicated volunteers who run it,” said Shelley. “We are truly grateful to the Rotary Club of Mornington, Community Bank Mount Martha and Mornington Toyota for their support in helping us meet the growing needs of our community.”