General News
19 August, 2025
Community takes ownership of catering van
A new community catering caravan has arrived in the district to help community groups prepare and serve food.
The caravan has been purchased and donated by West Vic News Pty Ltd – the owner of the Ararat Advocate, Stawell Times News and Pyrenees Advocate.
The professionally decked out caravan will be predominantly used to serve hot meals to homeless people and people struggling.
However, it will also be loaned out free of charge to community groups in Pyrenees Shire, Northern Grampians Shire and Ararat Rural City who need a catering space for sporting events, functions, fundraisers and events.
The van will be owned and managed by the newly formed Ararat Community Food Van Inc.
The recently formed group includes two Ararat councillors plus members of the community and clergy.
The group says there is a growing need to provide hot meals for people sleeping rough and those who are struggling to buy food for themselves and their families.
Chairman Bob Sanders believes the first meals will be taken out to the community within a fortnight.
He said the group recognises there are people struggling in the local community who need practical help.
“The plan is to get a food bus up and running in Ararat to help people who are doing it a bit thought or who are homeless. I think there is a need. I don’t think people in the community see or understand how bad it is for some people in Ararat. There will definitely be a need for it.
“We don’t only want to feed people but also create some social contact for people,” he said.
“A lot of people in our community are isolated and this is a way or reconnecting them with other people,” he said.
Initially, meals will be prepared in the commercial kitchen at Gordon Street Oval in Ararat and then taken out on location.
The volunteers plan to set up on certain nights at the Ararat Skate Park, with a second option being Green Hill Lake.
Mr Sanders said there is clearly a need for such a service.
“If you look around, you can see people are doing it pretty tough and we’ll probably only touch the surface with this.
“If they’re given a meal, they can’t spend it on the pokies or smoke it or drink it or spend it on drugs.
“It’s going directly to where it needs to be and hopefully if there are kids out there that aren’t getting fed, we can get them fed,” he said.