Upcoming on the 26th of February, AFL Players Swap Footy Jumpers for Aprons to Highlight Food Relief Need

AFL players Changkuoth Jiath (Melbourne Football Club) and Will Hayward (Carlton Football Club)

will be serving hot meals, distributing groceries and sharing a meal with guests at Transit Soup Kitchen.

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to intensify, two AFL footballers will step away from the field and into one of the

places seeing its impact most clearly at a grass-roots level.

Melbourne Football Club’s Changkuoth Jiath and Carlton Football Club’s Will Hayward will volunteer at Transit Soup

Kitchen in Melbourne’s south-east this week, helping serve meals and pack groceries for people facing mounting financial

pressure. While opponents on the field, Jiath and Hayward are united in their desire to shine a light on the real and

growing impact of rising housing costs, utilities and food prices and to challenge the stigma that still surrounds food

relief.

Transit Soup Kitchen supports around 1,700 people each week across Melbourne’s south-east through free groceries and

a sit-down three-course meal service. Increasingly, those walking through the doors reflect the widespread strain

households are under.

“We’re seeing pressure on households coming from all directions,” said Michelle Pinxt, Community Engagement and

Partnerships Manager at Transit Soup Kitchen.

“At a grass-roots level, we’re seeing the consequences of the cost-of-living crisis play out every day. Our guests include

people who are working but still struggling, pensioners on fixed incomes, people with disabilities, newly arrived refugees,

those fleeing family violence and people experiencing homelessness. Even when people are doing everything right, the

numbers simply don’t add up anymore.”

Beyond food, Transit also delivers its ‘Beyond the Meal’ program, responding to the broader impacts of financial stress

by bringing free wrap-around support on site where people already feel safe. Guests can access legal advice,

employment support and other practical services without appointments, red tape or being sent elsewhere.

“Food is often the first point of contact for those in crisis,” Pinxt said. “But what we’re seeing is that the cost-of-living

crisis doesn’t just create hunger, it creates instability. ‘Beyond the Meal’ helps people take the next step towards

regaining some stability.”

At Transit Soup Kitchen, people accessing support are deliberately referred to as guests, not clients, a philosophy that

shapes how services are delivered and how people are welcomed.

“For many guests, the sit-down meal service is their main social interaction for the week. Sharing a meal offers connection,

dignity and a sense of belonging at a time when life feels increasingly uncertain,” Pinxt said.

Transit hopes Jiath and Hayward’s visit will encourage the broader community to better understand how deeply the cost-ofliving

crisis is affecting everyday households, and how community-based food relief services are now at the frontline of that

impact.

Changkuoth Jiath and Will Hayward will volunteer alongside representatives from HFH Auto Group, including Dealer Principal

Jonathan Hardwick and General Managers Howard Bould and Sam O’Leary, steadfast supporters of Transit Soup Kitchen.