Saving lives in Hamilton – one tin in the bin at a time
- deansimpson7
- 7 hours ago
- 6 min read
One phone call was all it took. It has since saved lives. When Anthony Bolden, a local resident in regional Victoria, set out to help people doing it tough, he could never have imagined it would become ‘Tins in the Bin’ - an extraordinary grassroots initiative that has since delivered well over a tonne of food to local community members. Together with his good mate, Mark Thomas from Hamilton Salvos, this unstoppable duo has become a trusted lifeline - and a force for good - as Salvos Online journalist LERISSE SMITH reports.
Mark Thomas pulls no punches.
He has seen firsthand the great hardship facing community members across the Southern Grampians.
“I reckon there’d be 12 people that say that they wouldn’t be alive if they didn’t have the food that we give them,” reflects the Community Engagement Worker and Ministry Assistant at Hamilton Salvos.
“I’m going to one (local resident) this afternoon. When I first met him, he was living off Pigface plants in their front yard. He was in his late 60s, stooped over from malnutrition. He couldn’t carry the food box I gave him. I had to take it into his kitchen. He was skin and bone. He was just in tears when I gave him food.”
Several years on, the transformation is unmistakable.
“Now he meets us at the door, carries the box, he’s joined the community, and spends time with his grandchildren ... he’s even taking in other people who are homeless. We’re feeding them as well.”
Another client, who once weighed just 42 kilograms, has since regained weight and improved their health and strength through regular food support.
The remarkable impact of the Tins in the Bin initiative, along with the other two main suppliers of food relief and material aid, Foodshare and Salvos Stores donations, is real and immediate – lives sustained, dignity restored and hidden crises eased.
At its heart, Tins in the Bin operates on a simple premise – that no family goes without – backed by Anthony Bolden’s rock-solid belief that small acts of kindness have the power to transform lives.
And it all began with a phone call.
Wanting to better understand what was happening locally for people needing help, Anthony, a local Coleraine resident who works for an earthmoving company, rang the Salvos in Hamilton to ascertain what was really happening on the ground.
“I didn’t know how bad our area was here,” he admits.
The incredible generosity of Southern Grampians residents who, despite facing great hardship themselves, still donate non-perishable food and other items to the bins in their local supermarkets to help others.
After a few calls, he reached Mark, whose role extends to being the Food Coordinator, who shared the stark reality: how many people were seeking help, how many were fed weekly at the church, and how many food hampers were being delivered across the region.
“It was quite a shock,” Anthony remarked.
Mark then asked him if he wanted to volunteer.
“I said no, I work full-time. But I asked, “What do you need?” recalled Anthony. “And he said, “Food.” So, I said, “Right, I’ll see what I can do.’”
That conversation sparked an idea.
Starting with a single donation bin in his driveway, Anthony invited locals clearing out their cupboards to drop off non-perishable food for Mark to distribute.
“I thought it was going to be quite small at the start,” he says. “But it grew quickly.”
What began at home soon expanded into local supermarkets, which embraced and supported the initiative, including barbecues and fundraising, and now includes the local post office and bank.
It has been a remarkable success far beyond what Anthony could have imagined – and the name came almost by accident.
“I was interviewed by a young reporter who asked, ‘Have you got a name?’ I said, ‘I don’t know. It’s not rocket science – you put a tin in a bin,” explained Anthony. “And he said, ‘Well, there you go! And it’s gone off from there.’”
Today, Tins in the Bin has provided well over a tonne of food, with weekly donations and regulars donors who give each week.
Each week, Anthony collects non-perishable food from the bins, and Mark picks it up during regular deliveries or when emergency packages are needed. Sometimes, Mark can drive up to two hours away to deliver food to those who need it.
And the need is great.
Skyrocketing rents, rising living costs, illness or unemployment can quickly leave individuals and families unable to pay bills.
Mark says there is a “phenomenal” number of people doing it tough. People are living in cars and sheds, and isolated in bushland, often without power or water.
Testament to this is a delivery to a local resident out bush who has no other contact with anyone else – except Mark. He has no utilities and will speak for just a few minutes – quietly saying thank you for the hamper. If he has spare vegetables, he will give them to Mark.
Mark and his Hamilton Salvos team feed around 190 people a week, including their local community meals. Food is also placed on outdoor tables at the Salvos – sometimes discreetly picked up at 2am.
Yet even amid hardship, against all odds, generosity flows.
“People doing it tough themselves still put a tin in,” Mark says. “They think, ‘If I’m struggling, others must be worse off.’ That’s the heart of it.”
In the predominantly farming Southern Grampians region, hardship spreads quickly. When farmers struggle, local businesses follow – one café closed after customers could no longer afford cake with their coffee. Anthony sees himself as the “middle man”, connecting people in need with Mark.
And the help goes beyond food.
Anthony recalls recently visiting a man who literally had nothing after being released from hospital and moved to a unit with only the clothes on his back – no toaster, no kettle, no way to heat up food.
Together with Mark, they provided the basics immediately, along with a hamper.
“I’m proud that I’ve become that middle man,” Anthony says. “I know from the past it’s not that easy to get hold of someone if you don’t know where to go or who to talk to.”
The ripple effects have even reached unexpected places – including the local police station.
“Once meal deliveries started, shoplifting basically dropped to near zero,” Mark says. “Police told us it happened within months.”
Mark credits Anthony’s extraordinary dedication to initiating Tins in the Bin, saying their working relationship – and friendship – is something special. They are mates who speak regularly throughout the week.
Keeping Tins in the bin local matters.
“Because this is where I live,” Anthony reflects. “It’s about the whole community … If you’re hungry, we’ll make sure you’re alright.”
And once a year, the community rallies together for a highlight on the calendar – the annual ‘Tins in the Bin Family Fun Day’.
The event was designed to be affordable for families while raising awareness and funds for the Christmas and back-to-school seasons. Last year, the event drew 1500 to 2000 people and raised just under $6000. Funds were distributed directly to the Salvos, the local St Vincent de Paul, and the Hamilton Uniting Church, supporting Christmas vouchers, food, and essentials such as hams and turkeys for Christmas lunches.
Support has also come from further afield. In the wake of the Grampians bushfires, ‘Turbans 4 Australia’ donated and delivered 22 pallets of supplies, plus a huge truck of toys for Christmas.
Today, Tins in the Bin supports multiple agencies, supplies a range of items from hygiene products to pet food, and reaches people often invisible to the system.
And Anthony plans for the project to continue to go from strength to strength in the community.
So, what’s his ethos?
“Everything in life has an opposite,” he says, adding it’s helped him in the past. “So, where there’s a negative, there has to be a positive. Even if you’re having a bad day, you know you’re going to have a good day because everything has an opposite.”
For those interested in donating to Tins in the Bin, contact Anthony at: Tony_Bolden@hotmail.com or 0401 925 082.
