By Oliver Lees
When Pushpinder Singh found out he was unable to work due to Melbourne’s current lockdown restrictions, he and his wife, Amandeep, decided it was a good opportunity to give back.
As head chef at the Sunbury United Sporting Club, Mr Singh posted on a community Facebook page to see if anyone was in need of a free home-cooked meal.
“I’m not getting any work until things open up again, so my wife and I started to ration ourselves seeing as we only had one income,” he said.
“But doing that we realised we were actually lucky to still have one income, so I thought I could help feed someone who is really in need.
“The response I got [online] was overwhelming, we went to people’s houses and they had tears in their eyes as they received the food.”
Mr Singh has lived and worked in Sunbury for 10 years.
Using supplies he purchased for his own family, Mr Singh has been ferrying meals of vegetarian curries and pasta around Sunbury with his eight-year-old son, Angad.
He said he was happy to do his part for his community.
“It [income] just stopped like that, people still have mouths to feed, if you don’t have savings or anything it’s very hard,” Mr Singh said.
“And it’s very hard for people to ask for help.
“But I’ve noticed when you offer it, people take the offer. There is a touch of embarrassment, but ultimately you can see the happiness.”
