A SECOND Soup Bus to feed Ballarat’s homeless and less fortunate is just months away from completion as the Soup Bus program celebrates its eighth anniversary this week.
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When the new red bus is on the road, Soup Bus founder Craig Schepis hopes the outreach meal program will reach three times as many people as it does now.
The Soup Bus is currently operating indoors at the Ballarat Senior Citizens Centre in Little Bridge St while its original bus undergoes renovations and the new bus is fitted out. Both buses are expected to be on the road before the end of the year.
Mr Schepis said he would work with community leaders in Delacombe and Wendouree to identify sites for the two buses to operate.
“We want to try to keep the CBD service indoor and get the two buses to Delacombe and Wendouree.
“July 6 is our eight-year anniversary, and the grand plan when I was fitting out the first bus was to operate two nights in the CBD, one night in Delacombe and one night in Wendouree, but we quickly went to five nights in the CBD and haven’t been able to get to those outlying areas,” he said.
The new bus will travel to Melbourne this week for the Soup Bus’ trademark bright graphics to be painted on to the red bus.
The Soup Bus team serve an average of about 55 meals a night, five nights a week, with six to 10 volunteers manning the service each time it goes out.
“We don’t do anything special but we treat clients with respect. That’s the simplest thing. Treat them with respect irrelevant of the situation and that’s why people love to come.”
The new bus will have double ovens, microwaves, fridges, cupboards, sinks, serving windows and more – everything needed for a full meal service. Much of the labour and materials have been donated or supplied at cost price.
Mr Schepis said it cost about $30,000 a year to keep one bus on the road to feed those who need it, and welcomed a $10,000 donation from Ballarat Eureka Apex president Matthew Stevens as part of the club’s ongoing support of the Soup Bus program.
“The Soup Bus have lots of volunteers who can man and support it, and we decided to support them financially to keep it going. The community Soup Bus is close to the community’s heart so we see it as a good fit for us,” Mr Stevens said.
The new bus will be named after Ballarat man Jonathan Crowden who died after being struck by lightning in the Grand Canyon in 2015. “He was very compassionate and I asked his parents if I could name the bus after Jono so indirectly his work will continue,” Mr Schepis said.
