Grub’s up

By Melissa Grant
THINGS are heating up at Big House communities’ kitchen.
The Pakenham based non-for-profit group will soon house the town’s soup kitchen which is moving from the Pakenham Hall.
Big House director Andre Van Eymeren said the Treloar Lane shop would be serving up a variety of soups, including pumpkin and vegetable, from next Wednesday but hoped to have a different menu in the summer.
“As it gets warmer we’ll explore and see if we can find some supportive businesses to do other things like salads,” he said.
Mr Van Eymeren said the kitchen was not only for the homeless but also for people finding it difficult to make ends meet.
“There’s a lot of families who we know everyday are struggling,” he said.
“Many people are working hard to pay off their houses and if something bad happens they’re up against the wall.”
Concerns that up to 40 people were sleeping on Pakenham’s streets prompted Cardinia Shire mayor Kate Lempriere to open a soup kitchen at the Pakenham Hall in July.
Cr Lempriere, who put $3000 of Central Ward funds towards the move, said setting up the soup kitchen at Big House had additional benefits.
“Andre has Work for the Dole people (in the shop), so they can help fill in Centrelink forms,” she said.
“They can help them explore jobs, where they’ve come from, their skills base.”
The soup kitchen is the latest addition to the Big House hub which has undergone many transformations since setting up shop in March.
Its Meeting Place is a work in progress which Mr Van Eymeren hopes will provide a spot for the shire’s people to go meet.
The hub already has a lounge and an internet café which Mr Van Eymeren says will make it a warm, vibrant place for people who are hungry.
He said being so close to Main Street would also make it more accessible than the previous location.
Cr Lempriere said the town’s generosity had again shone through.
The Cardinia Club, Lions Den and the Cardinia Cultural Centre have committed to providing soup for the kitchen, while Hardy’s have already donated the pots.
LRK Electrical serviced the shop and landlord Bernie Seebeck did the plumbing at no cost.
“It’s people helping people,” Cr Lempriere said.
“People are very generous in town.”
Big House is open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 4.30pm and Saturdays from 9.30am to 1pm.