By Jessica Anstice
A $5000 grant is set to go a long way for a Pakenham charity that cooks homemade meals on a daily basis for those in need.
Gurudwara Baba Budha Sahib Ji Pakenham was one of seven community groups to receive a Covid-19 Relief Provider Support grant from Cardinia Shire Council.
The grant will come in handy as the charity has not been receiving its regular donations due to the Covid-19 restrictions currently in place.
“We’ve been helping communities since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic – we also helped out during the bushfires as well,” Gurudwara Baba Budha Sahib Ji Pakenham volunteer Charan (Monty) Sodhi said.
“The grant is going to be a really great help to us because not many people are allowed to come to the temple so we aren’t getting donations and without donations it’s very hard to survive.”
Volunteers at Gurudwara Baba Budha Sahib Ji Pakenham prepare meals each day for those who are most vulnerable and facing financial hardship within the Cardinia Shire community.
Mr Sohdi said that since the pandemic, the volunteers have not been able to prepare as many meals as usual.
Before the crisis, the charity was cooking about 2250 meals per month before delivering the meals to peoples’ front doorsteps.
“About 80 percent of the people we are delivering meals to are Australians,” he said.
“The funding we will receive will be put towards buying raw ingredients for us to cook with so we can continue our service.”
