By PEACE IJIYERA
ON the first Friday of each month, Moe local John Mauger hands out fresh produce in front of TM&H Mitre 10 on George Street, Moe.
Since January, Mr Mauger has done this as his way of giving back to the community.
Lending a helping hand and giving out to people isn’t something new for Mr Mauger, who has been “involved in food relief for quite a few years”.
“We just set up here once a month and give away free potatoes, sometimes we have onions as well, sometimes we have apples,” he said.
“It’s all just to help the community and share some smiles and make people’s day. Things are tough, but we can all give away free smiles.”
Though Mr Mauger’s health has declined in recent years, he still shows up for his community. When he’s feeling strong, he’ll be out the front of Mitre 10 from 8am to 4pm.
“I really enjoy doing it, it’s good for community and good for me. I’d only be sitting home doing nothing otherwise.”
The staff at Mitre 10 fully support Mr Mauger.
The store’s operations manager, Laura Town says Mr Mauger does “such a great job”, and has worked hard to build a “beautiful community” of his own outside the store.
Mr Mauger extends his gratitude towards the Mitre 10 staff. He said the workers are “great people to deal with”.
All the produce given out is sourced locally.
“The onions and potatoes and apples all come from Thorpdale from various orchids or potato growers, or onion growers,” he explained.
“Generally it’s all donated. Some I buy … I get donations and that covers the cost of the bags and the few things I do buy. But its worth it … I could go down to the pub and buy a glass of beer for 20 bucks and yet I could get 40 kilos of onions for that. I get much more enjoyment out of giving away 40 kilos of onions than sculling a pot of beer.”
What began as a sole initiative has turned into a produce swap, where people in the community can bring their own produce to be given out to people who need it.
As well as sharing produce with the community, Mr Mauger also shares his love for cooking through recipe cards. His stuffed onion recipe is popular within the community.
“You can modify it as much as you like, just the basic concepts there, and you add whatever you like,” he said.
Mr Mauger will be back at Mitre 10 on June 5 doing what he does best – handing out produce with a smile and helping people in the community.
