Christine Welsh of the Sapphire Community Pantry joins Creators of Community Ownership

Now Christine says they are retiring, only they're not really.

They are retiring from the pantry in October but leaving it in the very capable hands of Mandy Rush, and well set up to continue its great work.

But Christine has jumped in to assist another major community project and is now a board member of Creators of Community Ownership, the community enterprise that is saving Eden's Curalo Medical Centre from closing.

Christine and Peter moved to the Bega Valley in 2013 from Sydney and immediately started immersing themselves in the community through Rotary, the Social Justice Advocates and helping to set up Pearls Place in Pambula.

They started Bega Valley OzHarvest in 2014. The times were different and Christine said they found it difficult to give food away. Christine also wasn't taken with the OzHarvest model and so in 2017 they started the Sapphire Community Pantry and applied for charitable status.

"We started under the auspices of the Southern Women's Group and the Salvos gave us the front of the Op Shop in Bega," Christine said.

"The first day 100 people turned up and then we started Sapphire Community Projects Inc and we found premises to rent."

The pantry still operates from Peden Street, Bega but now also has a mobile service which travels around the Bega Valley.

"Peter worked out the money; Peter has been the brains, I've been the talking head," Christine said.

In 2019 they were given $20,000 from Rotary Inner Wheel, and $50,000 from the Commonwealth Bank which was used to buy a van. This meant they could be a pantry on the move and go out to the smaller villages in the Bega Valley.

The van had racks installed and more recently a lift was purchased for ease of getting heavy loads of food in and out of the van. The pantry also has solar power and batteries now.

Their work has been recognised in numerous awards.

Christine and Peter have been talking about stepping away from the pantry for the last 12 months but in October at the AGM they will do it and are looking for active board members to come in.

They also want someone one day a week to support Mandy Rush.

"Peter and I are really proud of what we've achieved and we pushed back against people who said you can't do it like that," Christine said.

She is concerned though, about the future of community pantries everywhere, as Food Bank is the only supplier. Fortunately the Sapphire Community Pantry still picks up from Aldi, Woolworths and Coles.

There is an irony in that as businesses become more attuned to reducing waste, that also means less food is available for community pantries.

Christine said she had noticed it, particularly getting protein which is in short supply.

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"It needs to be looked at. We have more people relying on crumbs from our table. We're being used like human composters," she said.

But now with the Sapphire Community Pantry well-equipped with a mobile service and manager in place, Christine can turn her attention to Creators of Community Ownership.

"I'm really looking forward to it; it's going to be challenging but they are good people, good thinkers with the good of the community as their driver," Christine said.

With her experience in starting up a charity Christine offered her services - "I was happy to be a dogs body" she said. But April Merrick co-founder of Creators saw a bigger role for Christine and has asked her to be a board member.

"It's going to be a new way of doing things and it's something that Eden needs," Christine said.

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