Some tucker? Make it Monday.

Tom Parry and Stefan Bradley*

EVERY Monday afternoon, people from all walks of life head to the Sale Memorial Hall for a meal and a chat.

The weekly event is known as Monday Tucker, and has grown from humble origins to become a ritual for both attendees and volunteers.

Its history can be traced back to over a decade ago, when Michael Page – a member of the Rotary Club of Sale – first took part in the Victoria Police Leaders Mentoring Program.

This initiative was established by Victoria Police in 2007, out of a belief the police was losing its community presence.

“I was in (the program) for about two years,” Mr Page said.

“I was teed-up with a senior police person in Sale; we would meet fortnightly for coffee, and he would discuss how the police organisation worked; I told him how Rotary worked and all that sort of thing.

“In the third year, there was a new (police) commissioner, and he decided that this program was fantastic, but… all the (Rotary) mentors and the police mentors should come up with a (new) program to put into practice.”

From there, Mr Page was put into contact with Detective Leading Senior Constable Rose Basford, who at the time was the youth resource officer with Sale Police.

“I had connections with UnitingCare, with the (Wellington) Shire, with the youth council … and basically, we all got in the room, had a conversation, and that’s sort of how (the new program) drafted from there,” Det Ldg Snr Const Basford explained.

It was universally agreed to offer a food-based program to the community, yet it was unclear who the program would target: “Are we only going to let young people in, or are we letting in anybody?”

“And we decided that we would be inclusive rather than exclusive, and tried to open it up,” she said.

Soon after, the Memorial Hall was chosen as the location for the initiative, and Monday evenings chosen as the designated time since it didn’t clash with other community events.

There’s a variety of individuals who attend Monday Tucker, all with different reasons for doing so.

For Gavin, it’s an opportunity to get away from cooking.

“I usually do my own cooking, so it’s something different down here,” he said.

“It gets us all together to have a bit of a talk.”

Gavin’s friend Matty comes along for the socialisation, as does Jules, who first joined Monday Tucker five years ago.

“They’re all positive – very positive people. That’s why I enjoy coming here,” Jules said.

Volunteers get just as much satisfaction out of contributing to the initiative. Presently, there are 16 people who offer their time to the initiative, with five attending each week on a rotational basis.

Kerry McMillan has been volunteering with Monday Tucker for “quite a long time” after learning about the initiative through Rotary.

“I do most of the cooking, and try and organise the kitchen and our staff,” she said of her role.

“I just love it … Love the people and the interactions that you have.”

The meals served by Ms McMillan are many and varied – some nights it will be cottage pie, other nights curried sausages, or chicken wings, or rissoles.

Everybody enjoys the food, none more so than Jules, who loves “anything Kerry cooks” – particularly her sticky date pudding.

In keeping with the old mentoring program, Sale Police maintains an active presence at Monday Tucker.

As with the volunteers who cook and serve food, the role of who visits the veterans centre rotates week-by-week.

Acting Sergeant Matthew Arthur, a newcomer to the evenings, said that Monday Tucker was an opportunity to engage with the community in a different environment.

“Usually we’re very reactive with people, we get called to a critical incident; whereas this is a different environment – everyone is sitting down and it’s comfortable,” Sgt Arthur said.

As one of the initial brains behind the initiative, Det Ldg Snr Const Basford makes an effort to visit the Memorial Hall frequently, often in casual clothes.

She said it was important that police continued to engage with Monday Tucker “because people need to understand that we’re human as well.”

“What we’re looking for here is making sure that they are safe, and feel that they can then come and just talk to us, because a lot of people haven’t had experience with police, or it’s always been a bad dealing,” Ldg Snr Const Basford said.

From 2012 to 2019, the initiative was in the main room of the Memorial Hall with as many as 70 people attending.

The year 2020 proved the biggest challenge for volunteers, with pandemic restrictions requiring a switch from serving meals in-person to distributing take-home meals for those who needed them.

It was also the year that Monday Tucker left the Rotary fold to become its own incorporated entity, with an ABN registered that August.

Since then, it has returned to its traditional dine-in format, albeit with lesser numbers – just 30 people are now regular attendees – resulting in a move to the Gippsland Veterans Centre’s activity room.

While smaller than the Memorial Hall that sits next door, the venue does allow for a cosier setting, which adds to the friendly vibe.

Additionally, Monday Tucker has broadened beyond serving food and providing a social outlet once a week; it has partnered with Share the Dignity to distribute feminine hygiene products, and offer clothing donated by local businesses.

A partnership with Dimmeys resulted in a blanket drive over winter, which resulted in $2500 worth of blankets given to those in need.

And it would seem the organisation is only getting stronger from here. “Really now, it’s starting to come to a more vibrant and workable program,” Mr Page said.

In September, Monday Tucker had its first-ever annual general meeting, where Mr Page was re-appointed chair.

The number of attendees on a Monday evening has risen, with an extra table added to the Activity Room; musician Harry Hook has visited in recent weeks, serenading attendees with his tunes.

What’s more, the committee is making plans for a festive dinner, slated for Monday Tucker’s original home of the Memorial Hall on December 19 – the Monday before Christmas, naturally.

So, are there any plans for the initiative to grow?

“We’ve built it up to this, we want to now start looking at adding onto it,” Mr Page said.

“Maybe some activities or something for the early-birds to come-in – we could have something going here… three o’clock onwards, where you have coffee and cake and maybe have some games.”

Ms McMillan has her own suggestion: “It would be good if we could have a bus or something that could get ’round town and pick people up.”

“In winter it’s pretty hard for (attendees) because there’s no transport, no buses… a lot of them can’t afford taxis and things like that,” she said.

Monday Tucker operates every Monday at the Gippsland Veterans Centre activity room on Macalister Street, Sale.

Doors open from 4pm, with dinner served at about 6pm.

While some goods are donated, the initiative relies heavily on cash donations to operate.

Anybody wishing to make a contribution, or learn more about Monday Tucker, is encouraged to call the Gippsland Veterans Centre on 5143 1633.

*Additional reporting by work experience student Isabella Godde.