The Extra Shelf

05/06/2026

Our great friends at Upwey Community Meal Night - Foothills Community Care & Rotary Club of Belgrave are running a Bingo Fundraising Night Friday 5th June from 6pm for dinner, Bingo starts at 7pm. Please support them if you can by going along to a fun night.

Following the great success of our last Bingo night we are proud to open up tickets for our next Foothills Bingo Night, on Friday June 5.

Doors open at 6pm with eyes down 7pm sharp

Come along and have some fun while raising funds for a great local cause.

Our kitchen will be open serving a hot dinner from 6-7pm for $10 a plate.

Plenty of cash prizes, bonus rounds, raffles and spot prizes on the night.

Book online https://bingo-at-foothills.raiselysite.com/

03/06/2026

All welcome. Foothills in Upwey and Ferntree Gully invite you to dinner every Monday night.

Winter has definitely kicked in this week, and while it's cold and wet outside, inside at our weekly community meals things are warm

Every Monday in Upwey and Wednesday in Ferntree Gully (4-6pm) we open our
doors for nights full of hot, hearty meals, food parcels, good conversation, and connection.

These meals are open to anyone and everyone. It’s about so much more than just food, it's about community and belonging when people need it most.

A massive thank you to our incredible volunteers and donors who brave the winter chill to make these nights happen every single week.

Come on in out of the cold, this winter, everyone is welcome at our table!

22/05/2026

We have lots of cardboard boxes available on the deck of the Tecoma Uniting Church. Please come and take some for mulching or any other purpose that you need. It would really help us out.

28/04/2026

Not sure when we are open?
Look for the open flag.
Check this page, click on hours and a drop down box appears.
If all else fails focus your phone on any QR code you see on all the signs and you will be directed to the TUC website.

23/04/2026

The Extra Shelf pantry will be open on Anzac Day, this Saturday.
When you shop buy an extra can to donate to the Extra Shelf Verandah Emergency cupboard.
What a beautiful Autumn we are having.
What's your favourite food for Autumn?

19/04/2026

Its easy to see our hours of operation.
They are just below the banner on the pages. See you on Thursday.

19/04/2026

Please come on down to Tecoma Uniting Church this afternoon we are open with lots of fresh fruit, vegetables, bread and rolls available. Perfect with school going back tomorrow!
Open until 4pm today.

17/04/2026

Please come on down this morning before 10:30am or between 6 to 8pm tonight as we have lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and bread to share. We look forward to seeing you at the Extra Shelf a foidbank for all at the Tecoma Uniting Church.

17/04/2026

We’re open til 4.30 then again at 6.30 - 8pm

17/04/2026

Friday night super special folks!
6.30- 8pm lots of fresh fruit and veg and bread!
Free bargains galore😆

17/04/2026

16/04/2026

We had a very special visitor today supervising our work!

16/04/2026

We are officially open in our new space with lots of fresh fruit, vegetables and bread available. Please drop in and see our friendly volunteers today. Open 9:30am to 4:30pm today.

15/04/2026

And it's official. Yay.

15/04/2026

Tomorrow is the day.
Open 9.30 to 4.30.
Friday 9.30 to 4.30 then 6.30 til 8.
Sat 8.30 to 10.30 then 6 to 8.
Sunday 1 til 3.
Our new facility has CCTV.

13/04/2026

Please share your recipes here! Over Easter I made a 'bread and butter custard' using leftover hot cross buns. It was pretty good! I added orange zest and extra cinnamon and poured a 6 egg custard over the buns cut in half.
This humble old food needs reviving! I reckon there are some adventurous cooks out there who will have some revolutionary ways of using bread.
I've collected your potato recipes to share at The Extra Shelf so it'll be great to have some bread ones as well.

Send a message to learn more

06/04/2026

We have lots of beautiful fresh bread and rolls thanks to Bakers Delight UFTG today. We would love to see it shared out to our community. Please drop in and take bread from the tubs on the deck of Tecoma Uniting Church. Our volunteers will be refilling them regularly.

We are running very low on any other fresh produce so if you happen to have anything that you can share it would be greatly appreciated.

22/03/2026

Room prepped and painted, ready for installation of new floor.

21/03/2026

Moving on to our new name and model. Feeling a bit sad taking down the Food is Free signs. Thank you to all the visionary volunteers who worked the land around Tecoma Uniting, 14 years of dreaming, friendship and fun.
Now we turn a page into the new chapter.
New signs today. New flooring on Monday and new model happening after Easter. Thankyou to every single volunteer who has offered their time and lets see what this next chapter looks like!

Thanks to the Rotary Club of Belgrave for your financial contribution. ❤️

07/03/2026

Dear guests! We would love you to share your favourite potato recipes. Potatoes are a staple and we often have plenty so…… we thought we could share your best recipes with others who come and may not have potato ideas.
Just share it here in comments OR write your recipe out and drop it with one of our volunteers or slip it under the door. Thanks in advance!

07/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1339415868226671&set=a.632420038926261&type=3

Supermarkets throw away tons of food every day while people go hungry. France said enough!

France became the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away unsold food. Lawmakers passed the Loi Garot, which requires all grocery stores larger than 400 square meters to donate edible food to charities and food banks instead of sending it to landfills. Before the law, some retailers reportedly poured bleach over discarded products to prevent people from taking them.

The legislation was driven by years of pressure from food banks and anti-waste campaigners who argued that millions of tons of perfectly good food were being destroyed while families across France struggled to eat. Stores that violate the law face fines of up to 10,000 euros per incident.

Since then, Italy and the Czech Republic have introduced similar measures, though none go as far as France's mandatory approach.

07/03/2026

What a great community we have.
Thank you Stephen. Our new name has been accepted by FB!

04/03/2026

The Extra Shelf volunteers enjoy what they do.
This is what some of them have told us.

What we enjoy is:
Being told by client that the service has really helped.
Reducing food waste.
Sense of satisfaction from doing a good job.
We are a community of volunteers serving the community.
Putting a smile on someone’s face when you give them food.

If you want to join the volunteers contact us at [email protected]

04/03/2026

You may be wondering why the name of this page is still FOOD IS FREE.
Its simple. Facebook tells us we cannot change the name, maybe because we have so many followers. If anyone out there could help us change the name please message us.

pic: yankrukov

02/03/2026

'The Extra Shelf' was officiously launched with a Celebration afternoon with our wonderful volunteers.
We were treated to a sensational home cooked afternoon tea and everyone went home with a special bag of goodies including this stylish apron.
We now begin the exciting journey of change. We understand there will be challenges which will be helped by the prevailing positive attitude.
Volunteers shared some things they enjoy:
'Community spirit and friendship.'
'Helping those less fortunate than ourselves.'
'Happy group of volunteers who enjoy their role'
'A great work ethic.'