By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A trio of Springvale retirement-village residents have helped their neighbours with an in-house grocery service during the coronavirus lockdown.
When the Lexington Gardens mini-bus service was halted due to social distancing rules, Ken and Marg McDonald and Maureen Lawson stepped into the breach.
Their daily and voluntary enterprise helps some of the village’s 300 residents who can’t get to the shops.
Ms Lawson and Ms McDonald banded together to run the shop for several hours a day. They’ve moved in and stocked a fridge and freezer into the village’s former second-hand shop.
Meanwhile Mr McDonald, an 84-year-old retired police officer, does the daily grocery run.
It’s in keeping with the motto of Rotary Club of Dandenong – of which he’s a member – ‘Service Above Self’, he says.
“We had to do something,” Mr McDonald says. “And while we can, we will – until we’re all released from isolation.”
Armed with a list of pre-orders, Mr McDonald combs three supermarkets for provisions, including bread, milk, breakfast cereal, fruit and veg and cleaning products.
No request is too much for Mr McDonald, who hunts for all types of items and special dietary needs. On a recent run, he filled two supermarket trolleys with pre-orders.
As with everyone, it was hard to source toilet paper at the beginning of the pandemic.
Now, Mr McDonald and wife Marg keep an eye out for the current scarcity – hand sanitisers and Glen-20 air fresheners.
“Those products come and go. We keep searching until we find them.”
