General News
12 September, 2025
Food drive success for students
Local students have led a food drive to tackle food insecurity locally with a large donation to Maryborough’s Salvation Army.
Maryborough Education Centre (MEC) Year 11 personal development skills students donated multiple tables worth of food to the local Salvation Army’s food relief program this week.
The annual food drive saw classes across MEC donate boxes of non-perishable items in the lead up to the hand-over Wednesday morning.
Year 11 student Johanna Anderson said seeing the project’s success, particularly how its grown from last year, was amazing.
“We all decided to do something for this community,” she said.
It’s a sentiment echoed by fellow student Bryce Thomson.
“It’s pretty good, everyone came together and provided food for people who are less fortunate,” he said.
According to the 2019 Active Living Census, one in seven households in the Central Goldfields Shire do not have enough to eat with 15.2 percent running out of food in the previous 12 months.
It’s a statistic the students wanted to improve with the Salvation Army’s help who offer food relief through their Doorways and emergency relief program.
Maryborough Salvation Army family administry assistant Tristan Wittingslow said it was great to see young people supporting a good cause.
“It shows anybody can help no matter what their situation is or where they’re from,” he said.
“Hopefully it encourages locals to go ‘I’ve got a couple of tins I’m not using, or bits of food in the house, maybe I can donate this to someone who’s going to need it more than I do’.”
Mr Wittingslow said while the pantry supports 20 or 30 people each day it also offers an opportunity for them to connect.
“It’s not just about coming to get food and going it’s actually getting to know your community,” he said.
It’s that connection which Salvation Army volunteer Charlotte McAdam echoed.
“It’s building connections with people you might not realise,” she said.
What Bryce wants the community to take away, however, is a willingness to support those less fortunate.
“Please donate any leftover non-perishables to the Salvation Army,” he said.