Elizabeth (Beth) Spanos has been recognised for her volunteer and committee work at Penrith Community Kitchen in NSW.
As a recipient of the Westfield Local Heroes award, Beth received a $20,000 grant to go toward her organisation.
In her role at the kitchen, Beth helps dish up meals to 500 people weekly while combating social isolation. She has also recently helped expand the kitchen’s services to support families in 12 local schools by providing pantry food and meals.
“I’m very lucky that I’m being the face of this award but it’s very much a team effort,” she told Neos Kosmos.
“I’m just so relieved in all honesty, probably more so than anything else that I’ve been able to do the kitchen proud by getting out there and being able to speak about the good work that we do and how essential the work is that we do.
“So it was very humbling and a wonderful honour.”
Beth has worked with the kitchen for eight years and also works with other organisations like the McGrath Foundation, which raises money to place breast care nurses in communities across Australia and increase breast awareness in young Australian women.
She also works with PCYC Penrith, a non-for profit that organises a lot of programmes for youth in the community.
Beth will use the grant to provide food to 12 local schools, ensuring no child goes hungry.
“During COVID, we found that a lot of schools in the area, which were closed, children were actually still coming to school for breakfast clubs,” she said.
“They weren’t being cared for in the way that you would expect kids to be cared for food wise, so we started doing hampers.
“We built a relationship with the schools and realised what the need was.”
Each fortnight they provide meals and send them out to schools, plus non-perishables so that they can run a breakfast club and make snacks to send home for a family that’s really in need.
This programme takes a lot of the kitchen’s funding, so Beth said this grant is going to be “wonderful”.
They also hold an annual Christmas lunch where the provide food, treats and toys for children, with a show involving entertainers.
Beth said the money will be split between the regular weekly work, the schools programme and the Christmas lunch.
When asked what the most reward part of her work is, Beth said it’s hearing the feedback.
“The schools… they say to us you don’t know how much it means. Children who have come to school and they weren’t studying because they weren’t eating and they were tired. They weren’t able to concentrate then.
Now we’re finding that their truancy levels have gone down. They’re more actively involved in what’s happening in the classroom. Their families don’t feel that same embarrassment that they have felt not coming to the school because they knew they weren’t able to provide for their children as well as they would like.
“So yeah all of that, any time you get that sort of feedback, you just know that you’re doing the right thing.”
Beth is married to a Greek, hence the surname, and their children are proud Greek Australians, who are well connected to their heritage and culture.
Her husband’s family is from the Riverlands in South Australia, and his father was one of the founders of the Greek church in Berri.
In Penrith, the Greek community are always wanting to help, with Beth sharing that two Greek ladies have offered to help and cook.
The local Greek church has also helped for Christmas organising food to bring along.
