About Us

Foothills Community Care began in early 2002, as a small group of friends looking to respond to local needs in the Ferntree Gully and surrounding area. It begun in partnership with Foothills Community Church (later Foothills Neighbourhood Communities) Both were auspiced under the banner of Churches of Christ Victorian/Tasmanian Conference.

Our first Ferntree Gully Christmas Day Lunch began on December 25, 2002. This was an expression of a community partnership, responding to local needs within the community after speaking with many locals, and local community groups, churches and Knox Council.

In 2003 Knox Council invited us to provide the suppers at their Citizenship Ceremonies. This was a great opportunity to welcome new citizens into our community through serving good food and at the same time provide some much needed resources to fund our other projects. This has continued for the past 13 years, about 6-8 times per year. It also speaks well of our partnerships with local community, particularly Knox City Council.

Ferntree Gully Community Meal Night commenced on Wednesday evenings in early 2007. Providing weekly home-cooked nutritious meals to locals, as well as providing a supportive community environment, these nights continue to be important places of connection for so many locals. Over that time we have served over 30,000 meals in over 500 Wednesday evenings. Most nights see around 65 people gather together for a chat and a meal.

In 2009 we commenced a second community meal night, on a Tuesday evening in the Mountain Gate estate of Ferntree Gully. This continued for 3 years until the end of 2012 when we hit the pause button on the night. This was due to our main coordinator not being able to continue due to her other work commitments. We started looking around for a suitable replacement. Little did we know then what would happen later.

Throughout 2014 and 2015 we looked and researched other possible areas of need to commence another meal night, having found a suitable coordinator. Unfortunately our previous Mountain Gate premises was not available. Late 2015, in partnership with Upwey Baptist Church, we commenced our Monday night Upwey Community Meal Night, serving the local hills community.

Also in 2015 we came across a small group of committed people, providing frozen home-cooked meals to those in need in the hills area. Community Casseroles had commenced in early 2015 and by late 2015 had grown to the point of providing 100 meals per month. In late 2015 a partnership was struck and Community Casseroles became a project of Foothills Community Care, continuing to deliver nutritious home-cooked frozen meals to locals of the hills who need a hand for a short period of time.

All of these Community Meals and Christmas Lunches rely heavily on a team of committed volunteers. We are incredibly grateful to those who give of their time, energies and skills to serve our local communities. We currently have over 200 volunteers regularly giving of their time throughout the year.