Dining Hall
Our warm, welcoming Dining Hall is the heart of the Mission, where hundreds of people who are experiencing homelessness, social disadvantage or isolation come to share a meal and engage with our services, 365 days a year.
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A meal is just the beginning …
Our Meals Program does far more than feed people. It also provides opportunities for people to reconnect to and develop a sense of community and belonging. Watch our video to learn more:
Sacred Heart Mission’s Dining Hall, where a meal is just the beginning …
Our warm, welcoming Dining Hall in St Kilda is the heart of the Mission and where hundreds of people who are experiencing homelessness come every day of the year to share a meal. Hear from Head Chef Kirsty, Chef Robyn, Volunteer Simon and Case Manager Catherine, why the Meals Program is vital for our community:
Kirsty: At the Meals Program, it’s very important that we are providing a nutritious meal, but it’s not just about the meal. It’s also about trying to engage the people and to give them a sense of community. Donations are very important. Probably 90-95% of our food is produced through the donations from big and small businesses.
We do make over 400 meals a day. It’s very busy. It can get very hectic at times, but it’s also a lot of fun.
Simon: For me, it’s about realising how fortunate I actually am, and how unfortunate many of us are in the community. This is part of the community; it does a great service to the city of Melbourne and to the people in need.
Robyn: We make a difference in people’s lives. We’re including people that are often isolated. We welcome them to the Dining Hall. Everybody is welcome here.
Kirsty: We do this every day, 365 days a year.
Catherine: As a Case Worker, the environment of the Dining Hall is a place where you can engage with clients and may take many meals before they feel safe to start asking for help, but then you’re there and you can start providing a whole range of services that the Mission.
And that’s why it’s far more than just a meal.
Our Meals Program
The Meals Program provides hearty, nutritious meals 365 days of the year. It is a program that does far more than feed people. It also provides opportunities for people to reconnect to and develop a sense of community and belonging.
Trained support workers are always present and ready to listen, talk and connect people with other Mission services.
Dine With Heart 2022
Dine with Heart is an annual fundraising campaign every May raising funds and awareness of Sacred Heart Mission’s Dining Hall and Meals Program.
Our 2022 program invites communities back to the dinner table to share delicious food.
Sustained by the community
It takes a professional kitchen staff of four and a team of more than 20 volunteers to prepare breakfast and lunch each day. Our valued volunteer pool is made up of individuals, community groups, school students, teachers and people from the corporate sector.
With limited funds, our work is supplemented by generous food donations from farmers, catering companies, local bakeries, cafes and restaurants and food rescue agencies. Over many years, the Mission has developed strong relationships with many food donors and we rely on a steady supply of stock.
Our Dining Hall remains closed for sit-down dining until further notice to keep our community Covid-safe. In the meantime, we are offering a combined breakfast and lunch takeaway, daily from 10am to 1pm outside the front gate of Sacred Heart Central at 87 Grey St, St Kilda. Takeaway meals during the pandemic
How we’ve supported our community
We served 169,417 nutritious meals to our community in 2020-21.
Other Mission services
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