NSW Meals on Wheels - Community Spirit Shines in Time of Need for Broken Hill Meals on Wheels

Community Spirit Shines in Time of Need for Broken Hill Meals on Wheels

In a time of urgent need, Meals on Wheels NSW and services from the Central West of NSW rallied together to ensure that the remote Broken Hill community was not left without essential meals.

When Broken Hill Meals on Wheels was suddenly faced with a crisis due to the injury of their local chef, Meals on Wheels NSW, peak body for Meals on Wheels services in NSW, stepped up to provide immediate assistance. The situation was dire—without their regular chef, the service was unable to provide meals to the town’s elderly and vulnerable residents. But in just 48 hours, Meals on Wheels NSW mobilised an incredible support network to deliver over 900 meals to Broken Hill with the help of Meals on Wheels services in Cowra Grenfell, Dubbo and Forbes by traveling more than 2,000 kilometres.
Sheryl Smith, Network Support Officer from Meals on Wheels NSW lead the coordinated effort by sourcing meals to be transported from Dubbo Meals on Wheels, and when other delivery methods were unavailable at such short notice, borrowed a freezer van from Cowra Grenfell Meals on Wheels and travelled to Broken Hill Meals on Wheels in the company of Kim Wright from Forbes Meals on Wheels to share in the driving.
“The delivery of meals to Broken Hill Meals on Wheels was invaluable for them as well as me as the Network Support Officer to Broken Hill. It was wonderful to engage with the Board Members who are hands on volunteers who have faced several challenges over the past month, including a natural disaster where a huge storm led to no electricity for the service, difficulty with recruiting new Board Members to keep their doors open and now have the only paid staff member, their chef, off on sick leave for an extended time”.
“This coordination effort has led to minimal disruption for the Broken Hill Meals on Wheels service, and ensures clients continue to receive quality meals, delivered by a friendly volunteer each day as per their scheduled meal delivery” Sheryl Smith said.
The meal menu was diverse and nourishing, featuring dishes such as Curried Sausages, Beef Casserole, Sweet and Sour Chicken, Barramundi and Sauce just to name a few, and was carefully packed into the freezer van and delivered safely.
This act of Meals on Wheels services banding together to support another Meals on Wheels service in their region is not uncommon. The Meals on Wheels network in NSW is a shining example of how the Meals on Wheels community pulls together in times of need and are always there to help and support one another in a crisis.
“One of the significant contributions by Meals on Wheels to our communities is their activities in binding communities together. This is a classic example of that in practise.”
“This example illustrates perfectly the cohesion and mutual support that makes the service so iconic in the Australian Community” says Les MacDonald, CEO of Meals on Wheels NSW.
Heather Picken, board member of Broken Hill Meals on Wheels expressed her gratitude, emphasising how important it was for the Broken Hill community to connect with the broader Meals on Wheels network. “It was good for us to touch base with the people in the Meals on Wheels network. People in Broken Hill are a bit parochial as we have many organisations come into town, don’t listen to the locals, promise the earth, stay ten minutes and leave town without delivering anything so we tend to get a bit sceptical and just muddle along so when Meals on Wheels NSW offered support, we accepted it unsure of what would be delivered.”
“We are so appreciative of their efforts and of the other Meals on Wheels services who have banded together to help us at this time where we needed nutritious meals to continue to deliver to members of the community. People don’t understand that Broken Hill is not like any other town, the same model doesn’t fit here, but the visit from Meals on Wheels NSW was so valuable for us, not just for the meals but also showing their support.”
A special thank you goes to Cowra Grenfell Meals on Wheels, who generously loaned their freezer van for the 2,000 km journey, and to Kim Wright from Forbes Meals on Wheels, who travelled with the team to help deliver the meals and Dubbo Meals on Wheels for their extraordinary response at short notice and ability to provide 900 meals so no one in Broken Hill went hungry. This spirit of cooperation shows the importance, strength and generosity of the Meals on Wheels network.
Meals on Wheels NSW is proud to be able to support its members and the communities they serve when they need it most, proving that many hands make light work, and when faced with a challenge, they deliver what is truly important – care, connection and camaraderie.
For more information or to get involved with Meals on Wheels in your area, visit nswmealsonwheels.org.au