Van of Hope: Sons of Monacilioni share free meals in Murray Bridge
The family which owns Australian Portable Camps has launched a food truck offering free food at Edwards Square every Tuesday night.
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Decades ago, a migrant from the tiny hilltop village of Monacilioni, in southern Italy, came to Australia to start a new life.
Though he spent much of his career as a chef, Frank Martino would eventually establish a modular building construction company at Monarto: Australian Portable Camps, now a major employer.
Despite their successes, though, Frank’s son Gino says the Martino family has never lost touch with its roots.
That’s why they have started offering free meals to people in need through what they are calling the Van of Hope.
Every Tuesday night, the van parks on Bridge Street at Edwards Square, Murray Bridge, and offers hot food to anyone who needs it.
This week the options were lasagna or a chicken stir fry.
The meals are cooked in the industrial kitchen at APC’s Monarto facility, which provides more than 300 meals per day to the company’s workers.
Gino Martino estimated that the van could provide up to 150 meals on a Tuesday night.
Any leftovers would be passed on to the Salvation Army, to be frozen and distributed during the week.
“As immigrants, we understand what it means to face hardship, to struggle to make ends meet and to keep pushing forward despite the odds,” Gino Martino said.
“In those difficult moments, hope is sometimes all you have: the hope for a better life, a brighter future and the strength to carry on.
“For those going through tough times, (the van) might just be the turning point they need.
“A little help, a little kindness and a little hope can make all the difference.”
The van was originally going to be called Figli di Monacilioni, “Sons of Monacilioni”, with the motto amore e cura: “love and care”.
The Martinos eventually decided it needed a snappier name, one that would be more easily understood.
But the original Italian remains on the side of the van, along with an image of hands holding up a shared Earth – a reminder of where the family came from.
This is not the first time the Martino family has sought to have a positive impact on the community, either.
Last year they led the organisation of the Cally Camp Out, which raised an astonishing $185,000 for homelessness charities.
- Get help: The Van of Hope will serve free meals on Bridge Street, Murray Bridge, near Edwards Square, from 6pm every Tuesday.
