Hooray for cafe

By Mara Pattison-Sowden
Koha Community Cafe was announced Community Group of the Year at the Shire of Yarra Ranges’ Australia Day celebrations last Wednesday 26 January.
Many of the volunteers attended the ceremony at Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead in Wandin, before heading back to the kitchen to begin preparations for the cafe re-opening on Thursday 27 January after the holiday break.
The Koha Community Cafe is run out of the Yarraburn Centre on Thursday nights offering hearty vegetarian dishes to anyone, regardless of their financial situation. It is based on the ‘Lentil as Anything’ concept that patrons pay for their meal according to what they feel it’s worth or what they can afford.
Aside from a paid cook and a small number of paid administrative staff, the cafe is run by volunteers ranging in age from 14 to 76, and is a not-for-profit association with a committee made up of local community members.
The cafe enjoys up to 100 patrons a night, with the average Thursday night taking in around 70 customers from Warburton, Healesville, Yarra Junction, Millgrove, Wesburn, Woori Yallock, McMahons Creek and even Olinda and the outer eastern suburbs.
Project co-ordinator Suyin Chan said the award was a great testament to the hard-working volunteers who kept the cafe running in many different ways.
“It’s a wonderful acknowledgment from the shire for what the volunteers and committee have done to get this going,” she said.
Ms Chan said the volunteers were a diverse group who all came from different backgrounds.
“A lot of them just love coming because they get that social interaction and have made new friends,” she said.
“It gives the younger ones confidence and they all interact and spar with each other.”
Ms Chan said the volunteers were always prepared to do anything wherever they were needed, from clearing and washing dishes, to serving meals for customers who needed help.
She also said the interaction between the customers was fascinating.
“A lot of friendships have been made. There have been quite a few instances where people have been cynical about what we’re serving and they sit down and are surprised that people at their table will say hello,” Ms Chan said.
“A fella came in and said ‘I’ve got 70 cents on my dashboard’, that was his only money, and he said it was the best meal he’d had in four years.”
Ms Chan said she had no idea the cafe would grow so fast, but “it’s been wonderful on so many levels”.
“We want everyone to come. Some people think it’s just for the disadvantaged but we need a balance between those who can contribute a bit and those who can’t,” she said.
Meet the volunteers and enjoy a meal from 6pm every Thursday at the Koha Community Cafe, 1-3 Park Road, Yarra Junction.