Bendigo resident Chris Watts has always lived an active life — for 40 years she worked on her feet as a nurse, and when she reached retirement four years ago, she turned to swimming to keep herself fit.
But then COVID-19 lockdowns came into place and the swimming pools closed.
"I used to swim about six times a week," Ms Watts said.
"I was really devastated and my mental health was really affected by it."
But Ms Watts has been keeping herself busy in other ways — for the past 18 months, she's been volunteering at Bendigo Foodshare, a food relief organisation that provides items for those in need.
"It's been a saviour for me, to know that I can actually be part of a service that helps the community," she said.
"I help sort a lot of the fruit and vegetables we receive from the supermarkets and make up crates.
"It's quite physical and helps me keep fit."
14,000 hours
Bendigo Foodshare manager Bridget Bentley said during the past few months of COVID-19, she had seen, on average, a 30 per cent increase in demand for food in the region.
She said in the past 12 months, the organisation had helped source and deliver 893,000 kilograms of food across central Victoria.
"Volunteers have given us almost 14,000 hours of their time over the past 12 months," Ms Bentleigh said.
At the beginning of the lockdowns, Ms Bentley put a call out for help to manage the loss of older volunteers self-isolating and meet the challenges of the pandemic.
"We were overwhelmed with 240 volunteers," she said.
"Through the whole time people have come and gone for different reasons, but we've had a steady stream of volunteers during that time, working under COVID-19 guidelines."
Change of pace
Alister Carr and his wife Nanette farmed pigs for 30 years before they leased out the business.
They now live in Bendigo, where they volunteer once a week at Foodshare.
"It's the highlight of my week," Mr Carr said.
"Every Wednesday we get in the van and help do the deliveries.
"I've driven more on the roads in Bendigo than I have for the past 30 years."
He said volunteering had been a real eye-opener.
"It's unbelievable the amount of people that they're feeding each week in Bendigo alone," he said.
"We've also driven to places like Beaufort, Maryborough, Avoca and Echuca."
