It’s Parched March and we need your help to cook more warming soups in Melbourne.

Will you support the FareShare Parched March team of chefs, staff and volunteers as they give up their favourite treats to raise funds for a vital piece of kitchen equipment?

Last year five dedicated FareShare staff gave up alcohol and sugar and raised more than $10,000 for a new steam kettle. This year, a bigger team of nine staff including our CEO Marcus Godinho, chefs Chris Mitchison and Polly Harvey together with seven volunteers, hope to raise $21,000 to buy and install a Giraffe gigamix.

Chef Chris, who has quit alcohol for the month, says, “We currently use a hand-held blender to liquefy our soups in our big steam kettle. Unfortunately, it is just too small to get the job done quickly and efficiently. As the cold weather approaches, we need to get more soup out and faster.” 

Chef Polly (pictured right below with Chris), who stands at just 5ft, thinks the Giraffe, a lofty freestanding blender on wheels, will make a tremendous difference to a job that requires strength and height. She is giving up alcohol, caffeine AND sugar!

FareShare volunteers have also joined the campaign to acquire the giant blender. Kate Barnett, a professional winemaker, is making a significant sacrifice in giving up alcohol and sugar this month. “It will mean 31 days of spitting out beautiful wines but it’s worth it,” said Kate.

Your support will make the world of difference to our dedicated team of abstainers and to the thousands of people struggling to access nutritious food.

As Chris says, “The hardest thing will be when I get home from work – I love having a sparkling Shiraz at night. But I’m doing it easy compared to so many in our community.”

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