Sarah Oliver
When six year old Ryder from Melton went with his mum, Cass, to deliver food to a resident in need, he wondered if he could help more.
Cass recalled what he told her on the ride home: “Mum, I want to help people, can we start something from home?”.
The two then set out to create a food pantry they could run from their doorstep which they advertised to the community through a Facebook page aptly named ‘Ryder’s Food Pantry’.
“He’s a very kind, caring, bubbly little boy who wants to help everyone,” Cass said.
Ryder said he wanted to start the food bank because people “really need help” and it would mean they can have “a full belly”.
Despite only being up and running for a couple of weeks, Cass said they’re fully stocked with non-perishables and other essentials like nappies.
The community has been “amazing,” she said.
“Every day I’ll get messages from people to donate and to drop off.”
They recently had a donation of supplies totalling $452 from a local who wanted to remain anonymous.
“You do get people that are like that,” she said. “They want to help but they don’t want to be known.”
Cass said there aren’t any particular items they are in need of right now, but that if people wanted to donate, they aren’t able to take perishable items like cold meat.
Details: bit.ly/3rCPyS5
