It's not unusual that we have carers and support workers that come and collect SecondBite food parcels for their clients. Estelle is a single mother of 3 who battles with significant mental disabilities and lately has been unable to leave the house due to social anxiety. On her behalf, a support worker comes and collects her parcel instead.

On this one particular Monday, a new face came to the door and introduced herself as Estelle’s new carer, her name was Malinda, and this just happened to be on a Monday that we were having our community connect lunch. One of our staff got talking with her and said, "Hey, why don't you ask Estelle if she wants to come and join us for lunch? But Malinda explained the severity of Estelle’s social anxiety and that she wouldn't want to come. So our staff said, "You know you are welcome to join us too if you like". She looked really surprised and said, "Really!.. Would I be able to come? Our staff smiled and said, of course!

That was our first lunch in July, and Malinda has now attended all the community lunches since; she lives in Goodna and has made it a routine that she will drop off Estelle’s SecondBite food parcels and then come back and has lunch with us.

Malinda’s children have now all grown and doesn't have many friends. After leaving a broken relationship and finding her independence, she has been working as a support worker, which led her to our organisation and has found new friendships with people who attend the community lunch, people she may have never met if our invitation was never extended.

Only recently, at one of our Community Lunches, one of our many volunteers was asking around for someone who may speak the language of some guests who were attending for the first time. As it would be Melinda walked in the door at this time and announced that she was from that nationality and would be able to help. Community helping community, which is at the core of why we do what we do, Because People Matter.

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