When Jan de Faye got behind the servery inside one of Katikati’s local churches in 2021 she probably had no idea that she’d go on to help cook up 200 free community breakfasts.

The 200th Katikati Community Breakfast was dished up at Katikati Community Baptist Church on the morning of June 11.

The event served breakfasts to the community, as usual, as well as those who’d helped keep the project cooking for the past five years.

John Bothwell, who thanked everyone for their support and generosity to the project since its inception, said the event began after the Covid lockdowns.

“The [Katikati] community centre, Rotary and Lions identified an ongoing need for the elderly and other vulnerable people in our community to meet once a week for fellowship over a cooked breakfast, care packs and a shower, if needed,” he said.

“The Baptist church offered its facility, with the attached food bank able to assist with a food parcel for those in need.”

Bothwell said since then the free community breakfast, held each Thursday at the church, had served more than 6000 meals.

The breakfast runs from 7.30am-8.30am every Thursday at Katikati Community Baptist Church. Photo / Merle Cave

“That equates to more than 6000 sausages and half a tonne of bacon cooked by the team of Allan, Lindsay and Brian from the Katikati Lions Club.

“Jan [de Faye] from the community centre co-ordinates the dozen or so volunteers on a roster, with some attending weekly, fortnightly or monthly as available.”

Bothwell said local businesses had been supportive, with Hume Pack-N-Cool providing a freezer, Gateway Kitchens building two large storage cupboards, Classic Builders providing a monthly donation to help with food costs, and the food recovery programme, co-ordinated by the community centre and Woolworths, providing spare food each week.

“The breakfast has provided for an ongoing need for families and elderly alike each Thursday from 7.30-8.30am,” he said.

For de Faye, the community breakfast had got people engaging again, especially those aged 65-plus. “It’s for everybody – so we often get homeless, who are able to use the showers here, people living in their vehicles, families – it changes every week,” she said.

“You never know who is going to turn up. Some days we have under 20 turn up, other days we’ve been close to 40.”

While that can create a logistical cooking challenge, de Faye doesn’t mind at all. “I think we do need these types of things in our community. It’s a chance for people to connect, gather and share food.”