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The Maclean community kitchen is inviting everyone, especially families, to their free sausage sizzles each Monday, and they’re proving a hit with the kids. Image: Contributed

Community kitchen snags further success

Emma Pritchard

 

An opportunity to meet and speak with locals coinciding with the ongoing success of the Maclean community kitchen, has provided its organisers and members of the Clarence Valley Community Church and the Lower Clarence Presbyterian Church with plenty of food for thought.

Since the first home cooked meals were prepared and served on May 9, the Maclean community kitchen has established a strong following, with many residents now regular attendees each Monday in the CWA rooms at 40 River Street, Maclean.

And while the dishes are always returned empty, accompanied by grateful smiles of appreciation, Grant Kaczorowski from the Clarence Valley Community Church found himself wondering if there was anything else that could be done to encourage more people, especially families, to come along every week.

“We sat down and did a review of how the first few weeks have been going, and we thought ‘what’s a good way that we can engage with more families?’,” he said.

“We decided to host a free sausage sizzle in Maclean earlier this month, and we set up at a local café On The Bite, who kindly allowed us to use their location outside of their operating hours, and that gave us the opportunity to talk to locals and get some feedback.

“A lot of families said they have an early dinner with their kids, and in the winter months not many families are going out later in the evening, so when we asked them if we did something after school, around 3:30-4pm, would they be interested in coming along, they said yes and told us that sounded like a great idea.”

Buoyed by the enthusiastic response, the Maclean community kitchen now hosts free sausage sizzles during after school hours each week, with the first one held on June 20.

And they’re proving to be a sizzling success.

“It’s very convenient for families to come and grab a quick dinner with the kids, and everyone loves a free sausage sizzle,” Mr Kaczorowski said.

“It’s a nice way of doing something extra for our community.”

Mr Kaczorowski said the Maclean community kitchen continues to be strongly supported by local businesses including SPAR Maclean, Maclean Toyworld, Maclean Bakery, the Maclean Hotel, BizPrint, Penny’s Sweets, and the Clarence Valley Independent.

“We recently received a $400 donation from Ritchies IGA in Maclean, and they kindly supplied the food for our first free sausage sizzle where we sought community feedback,” he said.

“The Maclean community kitchen is not just about providing meals and additional support to those who are struggling, we want to engage with the whole community.

“Everyone is welcome, and we’re looking forward to seeing more people each week.”

The Maclean community kitchen is hosting free sausage sizzles every Monday between 3:30–5:30pm along with regular weekly meals between 6-7:30pm.