About Meals on Wheels

Our History

In 1956, the late Mrs. Rhoda Cameron of Ipswich (the wife of the then Commonwealth Health Minister) saw the need for a service to help feed the poor. She had been on an overseas trip to England, where she saw a form of meals service in operation and felt this was something needed in her own community. Mrs. Cameron returned to Ipswich and endeavored to promote the idea.

Although she was not initially successful, Mrs. Cameron’s determination was not dampened, and she, together with the late Mrs. Russell, commenced a “Meals on Wheels” service in her back yard gardener’s cottage, serving meals from a thermos flask and pudding basin. The price being two shilling (20 cents) per meal. At this time, there were no funds such as meal subsidies or Government Grants, so these people went ahead in faith, relying upon the sale of the meals to self fund their actives. From these humble beginnings, the concept of Meals on Wheels in Queensland has grown.

The Caring Volunteer Service

Supporting our community.

The Queensland Meals on Wheels Services Association Incorporated was formed in June 1976, and now boasts a significant membership from Member Services, 75% of which have now been operating in their own Communities for more than 20 years.

 

Cairns Staff

At Cairns Meals On Wheels we have 7 paid staff members:

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Dion Patel

Head Chef

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Grant Hutton

Assistant Chef

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Louise Kong

Kichen Assistant

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Jeannie Johansson

Office Manager
Jeannie is responsible for the smooth running of the office and reports to the Management Committee.

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Lisa Takai-Rapira

Administration Assistant
Lisa is responsible for Creditors as well as assisting in organising the daily delivery of meals to our clients and answering any enquiries

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Jacqueline (Jacqui) Turner

Administration Assistant
Jacqueline is our creditor’s clerk, as well as helping out with the preparation of the daily meal delivery forms.