Buloke Shire supports mental health of communities through Paddock Run initiative

Doing just that was the motivation behind The Paddock Run, a community driven flood response and recovery initiative developed by the Buloke Shire Council and Rural Financial Counselling Service.

Late last year, council partnered with food businesses and grain receival sites to deliver flood support and assistance information to the harvest community where they are - in the paddock, truck, tractor, harvester or ute.

And that support came using a less conventional, but more practical method for people - via their stomachs.

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When visiting participating businesses for a grocery shop or to pick up a takeaway meal, harvest workers were given a card developed with key messages and contact numbers for specialist advisors who could direct them to the help they needed.

The initiative is also intended to strengthen the intrinsic connection Buloke's food businesses have with local primary producers, recognising that in supporting each other they are partnering in investing in their futures.

"Food grown and made locally is more often fresher, tastier and good for our health, and eating locally can be beneficial to the environment with less food miles associated," Buloke Shire mayor Alan Getley said.

"We are reminding our community that when we buy local food it strengthens our community in many ways, and continuing to do what we always do in Buloke - look out for each other."

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The October floods not only impacted about 50 per cent of agricultural properties in Buloke, individual homeowners and businesses struggled with flooded roads, cutting off access to their businesses during what would normally be a busy trading period.

The Paddock Run encourages people to check in with one another and look out for everyone's mental health, providing phone numbers for professional counselling when needing to get worries off the chest.

Contact numbers for specialist business advisors who are well versed in the issues affecting rural businesses are also provided, helping to take the stress out of finding what financial assistance they are eligible for and assisting them to get it.

More information can be found at buloke.vic.gov.au

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