Helping since the first meal

Meals on Wheels volunteer Marian Harrison set up the service in Mitchell in the 90s and is still volunteering.

HELPING HAND: Marian Harrison started Mitchell Meals on Wheels in the early 1990s, and continues to volunteer for the organisation, as well as being a client for the meals they deliver. Picture: Jorja McDonnell

WHEN Marian Harrison moved from Goondiwindi to Mitchell, she brought more than the contents of her home to the little town on the banks of the Maranoa River.

She also brought Meals on Wheels to Mitchell for the first time ever, after volunteering with the service for many years in her former home town.

Now going strong for over 20 years, Mrs Harrison said the volunteers at Mitchell MOW are incredibly fortunate.

"We're a little spoiled in our little organisation, because the hospital actually cooks our meals,” she said.

"Over the years, mainly through grants, we've put a lot of equipment in the hospital kitchen up there.

"We've done the dishwasher and the mixer, two stoves, a chill-blast freezer and a cold room. It makes a lot of difference.

"Queensland Health is good enough to cook the meals, and we can get grants where they can't.

"When you work out how much we have saved for Queensland Health, it is quite a lot.”

The partnership between the local hospital and the volunteers is what keeps the vital service going for Mitchell residents, including Mrs Harrison, who is also a Meals on Wheels client.

"If we had to run our own kitchen, we couldn't do it - we just don't have the people on a regular basis,” she said.

"Too many of them are fairly elderly themselves, and actually, the oldest volunteer we ever had was 92.

"All up we have about 35 volunteers at the moment.

"The main thing is we need more younger people to get involved because us oldies aren't going to be around forever.”

Having volunteered with a whole host of community groups since the '60s, Mrs Harrison said the motivation to do it comes naturally.

"I think I've always had a community obligation, and that's probably why I began,” she said.

"In Gundy I lived out on a property and [doing Meals on Wheels] was also made for an outing.

"Meals on Wheels is a very good organisation, and when I first moved up here, they didn't have one.

"I had the milk run at that stage, and well, I couldn't do Meals on Wheels and the milk run, so the job had to take precedence.

"But Meals on Wheels began here in the early 1990s, which isn't too bad, and we've been going all the time since.”

As well as elderly clients, the Mitchell service also looks after the broader community in special circumstances, but Mrs Harrison wishes they could do more.

"It's too bad we can't do anything else - we do the best we can.”