Food Relief

There’s a little patch of ground at the Callington Mill site where previously the local Council and some community members established a garden representative of a typical vegetable garden of the 20th century.

This garden is now named The Mill Patch and is being cared for by a group of volunteers called The Mill Patch Friends. These volunteers tend the garden through planting, watering, weeding, seed collection and harvesting. The vegetables are harvested to provide food relief for local residents in need via the fridge at the Oatlands Free Pantry.

The garden project was originally funded by Communities for Children, with the support of Hobart City Mission. Now the Patch is totally funded by donations.

If you would like to donate towards the Mill Patch, please do so via the 'Donate' tab. Click on logo to take you to the 'Donate' page.

Hobart City Mission (HCM) has expanded its Emergency Relief program to Oatlands to help provide food and other support to people in the Southern Midlands community.

The expansion of the program will mean that people doing it tough can get support without the expensive drive into Hobart, Campbell Town or Launceston.

HCM has been providing Emergency Relief in Hobart since it’s beginnings almost 170 years ago. Emergency Relief includes help through food packs, food vouchers, support to access No Interest Loans, and referrals to other key services.

Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated group of local volunteers, food packs will also feature freshly grown vegetables and herbs when available. HCM are also partnering with local group Oatlands Community Association who provide extra emergency support.  

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Appointments must be made beforehand - ID, proof of income and expenses must be provided.

To access Emergency Relief or for information, please call Hobart office – 6215 4200
Between 8.30am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

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The Free Pantry is found in the foyer of the Midlands Memorial Community Centre, High St Oatlands. This project is a collaboration between the Hub and Oatlands Community Association.

Started in 2023 with funding from the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Oatlands Free Pantry marks a dramatic change in the way food relief is delivered to the community.  We have moved away from the Hobart City Mission’s Oatlands Community Hub formal emergency relief delivery model, as it had become clear that we still weren’t reaching all the vulnerable community members in need of food assistance.

Feedback from the community revealed that the stigma around arranging and attending ER appointments were holding some of this demographic back.  They would rather struggle to put food on the table than to be judged for having to ask for help. While we were struggling to reach everyone, a local group started up with the goal of finding somewhere to put a ‘food pantry’.  This community request informed our decision to find a better format to provide food relief.

We utilise grant funding to purchase non-perishable food items.  Fresh produce that can be found in the fridge either comes from donations or via the Mill Patch Garden.  Volunteers work in the garden to grow fresh vegetables especially to supply the Pantry.  We believe it is paramount that the community has access to healthy food.

Access to the Pantry is intended for residents of the Southern Midlands municipality only.  The community are asked to be mindful of others accessing food relief and only take a small number of items.

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  If you would like to donate food items to the Pantry, please feel free to drop them into the tub provided in the foyer.
 
Alternatively, you may make a cash donation into the box on top of the Pantry fridge.