In a unique local government collaboration, 21 Victorian councils have joined forces to build and operate a world class kitchen that produces Meals on Wheels for their communities.
Community Chef delivers 6000 to 8000 three-course meals per day to the 21 shareholder councils, who deliver them to recipients.
Eight of those councils are also shareholders in Regional Kitchen, which owns the high-tech building and facilities in Altona, west of Melbourne.
Award-winning French architect François Tesnière designed the production kitchen, which is a first for Australia and one of just five in the world.
His 2Zones2 design uses cutting-edge technology to provide the highest food safety standards, maximum efficiency and a superior working environment that emphasises OHS and environmental sustainability.
Melbourne-based French chef Gabriel Gate is also a big supporter of Community Chef (and a big hit with the meal recipients).
Community Chef contacted Local Government Focus in response to our February front page story ‘Work health law concern’ which examined the impact of new OHS laws on volunteer organisations like Meals on Wheels.
Business Development Manager Pam West said many of the councils still used volunteers to deliver meals to maintain important personal contact with recipients.
Community Chef employees are also invited on meal deliveries and recipients are asked to attend regular tasting sessions at the plant.
“The Community Chef model of service delivery is highly innovative and demonstrates what can be achieved by local government through collaboration.” Ms West said.
“Our purpose is to provide nutritious, varied, attractive, culturally sensitive and affordable, high quality food that vulnerable members of our community will enjoy and want to eat.”
Vegetables are packed separately and all meals are pasteurised and vacuum-sealed to give a 30-day shelf life, allowing recipients more flexibility about what they choose to eat.
Food security and the nutritional wellbeing of people at risk underpin recipe development and production methods at Community Chef.
“Procurement policies and practice consider wider social and environmental benefits and longer-term sustainability and food security.” Ms West said.
“Through Community Chef, councils are active contributors to wider social, economic and environmental policies through research, advocacy, partnerships and experimentation.”
Community Chef offers career pathways and entry-level employment and training opportunities for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market.
As part of its commitment to social enterprise, some vegetables are supplied by Karkana, an organisation run by Wimmera Uniting Care in Horsham that employs people with a disability.
Community Chef also provides surplus meals at no cost to the Food Bank and Second Bite.
“It’s more than just profit and loss for us,” CEO Joe Ciccarone said.
“Of course, we have to be a sustainable business but our primary consideration isn’t money. We are here to provide a service.
“We talk about tolerance and respect constantly – it’s part of everything we do. Every single person here is important.”Of the 21 shareholder councils, 19 are metropolitan and four are regional.
Ms West said the Community Chef model could be used throughout regional Victoria and interstate.
“It’s a new model for collaboration in local government, to get 21 councils all agreeing to the same shareholder agreement.
“There’s no reason we couldn’t take this concept to regional areas and interstate.”
