• Ailsa Melville, a Meals on Wheels volunteer for over 20 years.
Division 10, People of LoganNovember 30, 2021 / 3 minute read

Serving the community for 20 years

When Ailsa Melville first started volunteering with Shailer Parks Meals on Wheels, the team hand-peeled piles vegetables and served up dishes from giant pots. 

Today, more than 20 years later, she and fellow volunteers sort and deliver meals cooked and packed at one of two large southside Meals on Wheels kitchens.  

While operations have been streamlined, the importance of volunteers like Ailsa to deliver meals to those who need them has become even more critical during the pandemic. 

The iconic not-for-profit organisation delivers meals to frail older people and younger people with disabilities and their carers. As well as providing nutritious food, volunteers provide a friendly face and a wellbeing check.  

“We know how much it means to people when we arrive, even though we can’t stay for long,” Ailsa says. 

The Waterford resident is humble about her long-serving contribution to the community. “I can’t believe the time has gone so quickly.” 

In recognition of this quiet achiever, the Shailer Park team has nominated Ailsa for the annual Mary Lowe Award. It honours volunteers of Meals on Wheels in Queensland who have made a valuable contribution to the organisation. 

Shailer Park Meals on Wheels was formed in 1996 and today is one of only two services in Queensland still fully run by volunteers. (While meals are delivered by volunteers across the state, the majority of services now have paid coordinating teams.) 

Four days a week, the Shailer Park Meals on Wheels volunteers gather at their Council-owned facility in Bryants Road and prepare orders that are then delivered to around 60 clients in Carbrook, Cornubia, Daisy Hill, Loganhome and Tanah Merah. 

The meals are combination of frozen options and freshly prepared meals and come from an extensive menu that includes prawn omelette, butter chicken, salmon mornay, roast lamb with minted gravy and honey cake with Greek yogurt. 

W: www.spmow.org.au  

P: 3806 0529   

By Sharon Worboys

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