Maya Pilbrow
31 March 2023
Prisoners across Victoria will receive homemade biscuits this Easter thanks to volunteers in schools and churches.
The Victorian Easter Biscuit Bake is a program run by Prison Fellowship Victoria that sends biscuits to incarcerated people.
St John’s Diamond Creek contributed over 1000 biscuits this year.
Parish priest the Venerable Dr Tim Johnson said the program was a practical way of showing love to prisoners.
“Our Christian faith calls us to love all people, particularly those who are marginalised,” he said.
Read more: God can work in ex-prisoners through you, he might just work in you as well
Prison Fellowship Victoria state manager Richard Boonstra said 79,000 biscuits were needed for this year’s bake.
Mr Boonsta said the number of biscuits was tied to the prison population, with each prisoner receiving 10 biscuits. He said extras were collected to avoid shortages.
Mr Boonstra said the program had been running for over thirty years and had originally begun as a Christmastime event.
He said the response from inmates had been positive, and that the program relied on efforts from volunteers across all denominations.
Read more: How the humble Tim Tam shows care to women behind bars
Mitchell Baptist Church parishioner Cathy Stewart said she had been volunteering for the biscuit bake since 2013.
Mrs Stewart said she coordinated collection of biscuits across the Mitcham area, with people driving to the church office and dropping off their baked goods.
“I enjoy doing it because I’m celiac, anyway. [The biscuits] are quite safe here with me. I can’t eat them anyway,” she said.
Mrs Stewart said the program was a wonderful way to provide ministry to those in prison.
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