As of December 1 the Bruce Street building and community programs will come under the auspices of Mission Australia.

Then the centre director Colina Meadows will take up a maternity role at the neighbouring Ashmont Hub. 

“We had to put in a tender application back in August, and then at the end of October we found out we were unsuccessful,” said Ms Meadows.

“I have five volunteers here. We just couldn’t compete with a big organisation like Mission Australia.”

The Red Cross initiative is confident the new operators will maintain the building’s purpose, but have shared some concerns on how the community may respond to the change.

“Mission Australia are contracted to keep the programs running, but I’ve been here for two years. I know the community here, we’ve built up their confidence,” said Ms Meadows.

“This will mean new faces to get used to, it’ll be hard on them and our regulars.”

The tender announcement has hit the centre at its most inopportune time, with the countdown to Christmas well underway.

The silly season has typically driven an increase in demands for the centre’s services, even more so recently.

“When I first started here, we’d see about 200 to 350 people come through a month, but lately we’ve been seeing 1200 coming for our help,” Ms Meadows said.

With the permanent closure of Angels of the Forgotten last month, the Tolland centre’s main dealings has become food rescue.

“Especially at Christmas, people are scrimping and saving everywhere just so they can have a Christmas, just so they can put some presents under the tree for their kids,” said Ms Meadows. 

“Our food rescue operation is incredibly important for them.”

Each morning, through the work of OzHarvest, the centre takes delivery of massive food crates, filled with edible but otherwise discarded supermarket offerings.

“Just last Friday we had about 20 kilos come through of fresh cucumbers, mangoes, little tomatoes, as well as the normal bread and milk we get every day,” said Ms Meadows.

“Everything gets used, everything is appreciated. So many people rely on this.”

When the centre amalgamates with its Ashmont counterpart, that part of the operation will be transferred across.

“It’ll be as easy and seamless as possible for everyone, and some of my regulars have said they will [follow] me over to the new place, which is great because I will miss them,” said Ms Meadows.