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A team of enthusiastic and hard working volunteers, that injects thousands of dollars into hospice every year through its cooking talents, is the Hospice Caterers.
Kitted out in their hospice aprons and operating like a well-oiled military unit, the team can cater for functions large and small, with sometimes only a day or two’s notice.
Coordinator Val Aston says the team takes pride in their professionalism and sets high standards in both the quality of the food they provide and its presentation.
“We do a lot of funerals and at those times the last thing the family needs to worry about is the catering, so we take that off their hands,” she says. “We get lovely feedback.”
The catering team has been part of the hospice operation since 1993 when Joan Winne, who trained as a homecare volunteer, set up the team with Fay Illingworth.
There are currently 15 women in the team, backed up by about five volunteer bakers, and it is not uncommon for the team to do three functions in one week.
As well as funerals, they cater for birthday parties, anniversaries and special occasions, mostly involving older members of the community. Numbers at these events can vary from a couple of dozen to 500-plus.
Val says catering at venues throughout the district often brings its own challenges.
“Things sometimes don’t go according to plan – like the time we turned up at a hall that had no hot water and no power – but somehow we always manage to make it work.”
The volunteers say they are motivated by the hospice philosophy of caring for the community. Most of the volunteers have observed first-hand the hospice service at work.
“We chose what we know we are capable of doing and then we have fun doing it,” Val says. “There is a lot of positive energy.”
