August 3rd, 2023Good grub – gratis – beats the belly rumbles

Words and Images: Eve Lamb

Potato and bacon soup, baked ham with roast seasonal veg, piping hot apple and rhubarb pie with cream… I could be at a cafe, pub or restaurant – or a good friend’s place about to be fed. But no I’m in the Uniting Church Hall on a Thursday surrounded by the Good Grub Club’s good deeds in action… and it’s all pretty yummo.

Everyone needs tasty nutritious nosh – and good company – in their life. But for an increasing number of local folk, getting a good square meal on a regular basis isn’t always easy. Or possible.

That’s where Daylesford’s Good Grub Club comes in to cheerfully help out, not just with the proverbial “good grub” but also with plenty of good companionship as well.

Every Thursday the club does exactly as its name suggests – dishes up hot nutritious lunches, free of charge, to those who are struggling to make ends meet.

These companionable sit-down three-course lunches are entirely free of charge and take place at the Uniting Church Hall at the corner of Central Springs Road and Camp Street, Daylesford, from 11.30am – 12.45pm. As volunteers point out, the only thing asked in return from diners is their first name.

And, that’s not all. The club also does food hamper and pre-cooked meal deliveries to those in the community who are unable to make their Thursday community lunch sittings in person.

Lately demand for the club’s services has been increasing, say stalwarts who volunteer with the club, people like Daylesford’s Cathy Walker, Gary Carter, Liz Bennett and the (retired) Reverend Jenny Hayes, who’s really anything but retired when it comes to making The Good Grub Club happen.

Cathy and Gary say that the type of social demographic represented among the diners has been changing in recent times.

“Every week there’ll be one or two new faces and it’s working people, which is the thing that’s disturbing, at the moment,” Cathy says.

“People will do anything to keep a roof over their head and sometimes that means no food.

“Some are regulars who come every week and there are some one-offs that we get. These are people who might just have had a big dental bill or something like that. That can throw the budget out. It’s a real mixed bag of stories.

“We deliver as well to 15 or 20 households, people who are isolated and elderly,” Cathy says.

“We probably have 15 to 20 people who sit down to lunch each Thursday but we also have others who aren’t looking for the social engagement as well, who will just get take-aways.

“All up at the moment we’d have about 60 to 70 households (using the club’s services) – or about 100 people.”

Gary, who’s the club’s acting secretary, says that sometimes it’s the need for social connectivity, a good chin-wag, that people are most in need of when they roll up to a Thursday lunch with the club.

“I love it because it’s something that is very direct and you can see the results of what you do,” says Gary when asked why he volunteers with the Club.

“There are no middle men, no bureaucracy, no means-testing of people, just a friendly and direct way of making a contribution,” he says.

Gary is “semi-retired” and has a background in the corporate world, in franchising. His professional background has left him with distaste for “bureaucracy”. It’s also left him with the ability to write successful funding applications, a talent which has very recently resulted in the Club’s receipt of a tidy $6000 grant from the Bendigo Community Bank Daylesford and District. The dollars are being bestowed on the Club at a rate of $1500 per quarter for the new financial year.

Marking that happy fact, two staff from the local Bendigo community bank, including branch manager, Melanie Tudball had also dropped in to visit the Club – and have lunch – while The Local was visiting.

Enjoying a seat at the Good Grub Club table, Melanie described the soup of the day – potato and bacon – as: “Great. Really good! Hitting the spot.”

In the kitchen, volunteers including former professional chef Rose Carrington, Robyn Zanon, who previously taught in a Stephanie Alexander Kitchen, and Robyn’s husband, Walter Zanon, were bustling about with delicious dishes featuring the aforementioned baked ham with roast veg and a dessert choice of apple and rhubarb pie or golden syrup, apple dumplings with cream or ice cream.

They were even happy and able to cater for special dietary needs, like gluten sensitivity.

“It’s very rewarding to do something for people who otherwise may not have a decent meal,” Rose said.

All of the diners that The Local chatted to gave the menu a decisive thumbs up, while many regulars mentioned that another main motivation for being there was the companionship.

“Basically it’s for the social interaction and it does get difficult cooking for yourself if you live by yourself,” said Hepburn local, Paul, enjoying the soup of the day.

“The food is very yummy and there is good community spirit. I’m a social butterfly. I like being with other people,” said fellow diner Sharon.

“The food is lovely,” added another regular, Nola of Daylesford.

The club runs on the goodwill and community-mindedness of its volunteers and more are always welcome, as are donations of in-date non-perishable food items.

“We currently have probably 15 to 20 volunteers. Some do the deliveries. We’ve got a couple of really good cooks, some of our volunteers pack hampers or help with serving lunch,” Cathy says.

The Good Grub Club is an independent registered and incorporated charity, and at times works quite closely with other community service organisations like the local Rotary club.

“Over the last 12 months, and especially since the pandemic, the demand has increased significantly, but surprisingly many people in our community are still not aware of the support services we provide even though we’ve been doing this for coming up ten years now,” Gary says.

“The (Thursday) lunches are cooked on site on the morning, and volunteers also cook on Mondays and Tuesdays and then we freeze so we can distribute,” says Rev Jenny who describes herself as “the general dog’s body actually”.

“We rely entirely on volunteers to keep the kitchen going. We also get good support from Coles through its Second Bite program. So every Thursday I go to Coles and pick up perishable fruit and vegetables that are left over.

“We can always do with more non-perishables and people can drop them off here (at the Uniting Church Hall) on Thursdays.”

Rev Jenny also says anyone keen to sign on as a volunteer and help keep the Good Grub Club dispensing its warming food and hospitality is more than welcome to contact her on 0408645248.