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North Melbourne Rotary Club is one of the smaller clubs in District 9800, but runs a high-profile and well-paid event every Moomba Parade.
Its task is to feed free hot sausages, hamburgers and veggie burgers to the parade’s participants and helpers when the parade finishes. The venue is at the Melbourne Grammar School staging area.
Says President Mary Zindilis, “The Moomba organizers let all those involved know about the free feed. The problem is that everyone wants their bread and sausage at the same time when they return from the parade between noon and 1.00pm.
“All through the parade morning last March 11 we were desperately stockpiling cooked onions and snags for the lunch rush.
“During that 60 minutes burst of demand after the parade, we had queues of about 100 people from the parade at a time in three queues. We fed close to 1000 people and then another hundred or so in the hour after.”
The club provides the BBQ trailer with three BBQ’s, marquees and a Bain-Marie, plus the food and staffing. Mary estimates that the club team of about fifteen (including friends) gave out 1300 sausages and burgers.
They have been engaged by the City of Melbourne for the Moomba Parade BBQ for over 10 years and have a very good reputation there. They also do normal sizzles selling sausages several times a year. Mary says the big problem is the ageing of club members who need high stamina for the hard day’s work.
The club generates about $15,000 yearly for its charities, which per member would rate highly in District 9800.
“Our next gig is at North Melbourne Primary School during the federal election about May. We’d appreciate any extra volunteers especially as that BBQ goes all day,” she says.
Contact: maryz@kapirisbros.com.au