Service returns to delivering meals 6 days a week

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Meals on Wheels clients in Cootamundra are once again receiving fresh, hot meals 6 days a week, with the re-introduction of its Sunday Hot Meal Delivery service

During COVID all fresh meal deliveries ceased, with clients transitioning to frozen meals instead.

While the Monday to Friday fresh meal deliveries resumed in 2022, Service Co-ordinator Kerry Kostrubic said COVID continued to take its toll on our weekend service. 

"We were really sad to see the Sunday delivery cease in 2020. It was so important to be able to offer our clients a hot meal almost every day of the week," she said.

But being able to re-instate the Sunday service has been amazing and is a testament to the strength of the local service, she added.

"As soon as we proposed resuming the Sunday service, we contacted all of our previous volunteers."

"Almost all of them answered the call. With individuals as well as groups like the Lions Club and Girl Guides donating their time to the service."

Mrs Kostrubic added there is great support for the service from the client base as well.

"The numbers do fluctuate, depending on what is happening in the lives of our clients, but for the most part, we have at least 25 clients receiving a hot baked meal each Sunday."

All the meals are prepared by the kitchen staff at Adina Care and are transported by a network of volunteers.

"Meals on Wheels doesn't exist without the wonderful volunteers. Each and every day dozens of people give up their time to ensure our clients have a nutritious meal," Mrs Kostrubic said.

"But it's sometimes more than that. It's the friendly face, or conversation that they receive, that also means so much."

Mrs Kostrubic said having so many people give up their time not only on a weekday, but on a Sunday, is heartwarming.

"When our lives are often so busy, taking time out of their day to help others, makes us so grateful that we live in a town like Cootamundra," said Mrs Kostrubic.

In June, 2022, Environment Minister James Griffin congratulated Meals on Wheels NSW and said the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) is delivering funding to 17 community champions to help inspire others.  

“The NSW Government is on a mission to reduce our reliance on problematic single-use plastics because we need to seriously decrease the amount of plastic entering our environment as litter or landfill,” Mr Griffin said.

Each partner will lead a project aimed at educating and changing behaviours in their community.  

Meals on Wheels NSW are looking forward to leading their project that focuses on educating local Meals on Wheels services, clients and volunteers about the single use plastics ban in NSW. 

By inviting the general public to sew or crochet bags for use by their local Meals on Wheels service, we will be starting the conversation about the ban on single use plastics and other alternatives that may be available to use instead.