Canterbury helps Maronites on Mission feed the homeless

Canterbury League Club is following up on their recent $50,000 donation to local Punchbowl group, Maronites on Mission, by providing meals and staff volunteers to feed the homeless in the city every month.

Last night, Canterbury staff volunteers successfully completed their first ‘feed the homeless’ run with support from Maronite team leaders. The team set up at two different locations – Woolloomooloo Police Station and Martin Place – and gave over 160 hot meals, sandwiches, fruits, snacks and hot and cold beverages, and spent some time talking and mingling with patrons.

“It was a real eye-opening experience – I saw that homelessness can affect people from all walks of life and it doesn’t discriminate between gender, race, background, or age. The food run was a fantastic experience for me and all the patrons I spoke to on the night were very friendly, chatty and polite,” said Meagan Peek, Reception staff member at Canterbury League Club.

The hot meal of the night was Chicken Mignon on a bed of creamy mash potato and steamed fresh vegetables which was prepared by Canterbury Head Chef, Kamal Mudunkothge, and his team prior to the food run.

“The team wanted to prepare something that was delicious, filling, and nutritious as Maronites on Mission have set a standard of being one of only a few food run organisations to distribute meals that are cooked on the day,” said Kamal.

“The food run last night went smoothly and the feedback about the food that we received from patrons last night was very positive so I’m glad they like our cooking!” said Kamal laughingly.

In 2013, Canterbury provided a $30,000 donation to help Maronites purchase their first food van but since then, their services have grown so much that Maronites saw a need for a second van to continue expanding their community services. The second van will have proper heating equipment installed to keep food warm throughout their food runs as well as more storage spaces.