On a brisk Sunday evening at the Encounter Bay Football Club, the sounds of clinking cutlery, warm conversations, and shared purpose echoed through the room. It was more than a dinner—it was a rallying cry, and proof that when it comes to hard times, our community responds with hay and heart. The Lions Clubs of Goolwa and Victor Harbor/Port Elliot joined forces to host a fundraising dinner in support of Need for Feed, an organisation dedicated to getting hay to farmers facing hardship. Coinciding with a major hay run across the Fleurieu Peninsula, the event brought together community clubs, businesses, and individuals with one mission: lend a hand to those who feed us all.
By night’s end, more than $45,000 had been raised—including a generous $5,000 contribution from the Yankalilla Lions Club and a spirited auction and raffle bursting with donated goods and goodwill. The funds were officially presented to Need for Feed founder Graham Cockerell, but the gratitude in the room belonged to the entire region.
And the giving didn’t stop at the cheque.
Over the weekend, ten trucks—each loaded with hay—rumbled across the Fleurieu Peninsula, delivering 200 tons in a hay run to 16 sites. Behind the wheel: drivers volunteering their time, their trucks part of a rolling lifeline. With more than 100 farmers registered for support, this was just the beginning. Thanks to the SA Government’s Drought Assistance Scheme, which helps cover transport costs, additional runs are already in discussion.
At dawn on Monday, the Lions Clubs were back at it—this time with tongs in hand, flipping eggs and bacon sausages to feed the truck drivers before their early roll-out. It was another small act that said something big.
“This is what happens when a community comes together,” one volunteer remarked. “It’s not just hay we’re delivering—it’s hope.”
With each donation, each plate of food, each kilometer driven, the Fleurieu region showed its true colours: resilient, generous, and deeply connected.
And that’s something worth roaring about.
