Charity day a smash hit as Goulburn Valley Over-60 Bowls Association raises funds for Shepparton Foodshare

More than 100 bowlers under the over-60 umbrella congregated at Tatura Bowls Club for the annual charity day, revelling in the spirit of healthy competition to raise money for Shepparton Foodshare.

Two days later association secretary Warren Snow and president Ian Vick met with Shepparton Foodshare’s executive officer Glenn Peric to present a cheque for $1775.10 to help keep vulnerable people in the Goulburn Valley fed.

Peric was elated to have the association consider Shepparton Foodshare for such a generous act.

“Look, we’d love to be obsolete — we’re not here just to pat ourselves on the back and look good — but as the need grows, we’ll continue to grow with it, and we rely on support like what Ian’s providing today which is fantastic,” Peric said.

“We really rely on community donations and support to keep running and keep our doors open without that ongoing funding from the government.”

Peric and his team sure know how to stretch a buck.

The volunteer-driven food rescue organisation distributes 400,000kg of food a year on average, recently ticking over its milestone of 4,000,000kg since its 2012 inception.

And if 1kg equals two meals, that’s 8,000,000 meals in people’s hands.

For that reason Vick said it was a no-brainer to opt for Shepparton Foodshare as its elected organisation to donate to after choosing People Supporting People in 2023.

“I believe that companies like Foodshare, People Supporting People, they get help from the public — they don’t get government funded and they should be,” Vick said.

“We look at businesses that are using the money to benefit somebody else, not to put into revenue.”

The association provides respite to its members in a different sort of way to Shepparton Foodshare.

Comprised of 15 clubs from Colbinabbin to Violet Town, Avenel to Katandra and everywhere in between, the association meets once weekly on a different green to share the love around the smaller operators.

For some, it is a lifeline.

“We don’t have a home club; we try and support the smaller clubs like your Avenels, Merrigums, Colbinabbins, Dookie,” Vick said.

“They get three games a year; the bigger clubs may get one — it depends on how we work our draw.

“Our object is to keep people on the green, let them have fun and support the smaller clubs to keep them going.

“There’s one club, I won’t name who they are, but they get three games a year and that pays for their water and their power for the year. This is what we do to keep them going.”

ˑ To learn more about Shepparton Foodshare, visit the website at https://www.sheppartonfoodshare.org.au/