Head chef John Marsden said he had been looking to make a donation to the organisation since they became involved.
“We have done Foodlink numerous times where they pay us an amount for a meal and we make something out of it,” he said.
“But I really wanted to get some local businesses involved in donating our time.”
Conti’s Dairy, Market Meats, Finer Fruits, Shepparton Food Service and Lush Property have all jumped on board to donate ingredients for 300 lasagnas, which Mr Marsden has called ‘Project 300’.
In the kitchen, staff are donating at least 40 hours of their time to put the meals together.
“We want to make 300 meals that can be frozen, that people can have at a later date,” he said.
“(We are) using as much local products as we can and get as many veggies as possible in there to get everyone what they need.
“Time and effort-wise it makes it a lot easier as well.”
Mr Marsden said Foodlink had helped the business stay afloat throughout the pandemic.
“Whenever we did have (Foodlink) it was a nice little top-up that would help going towards paying some bills as well as you were doing something for the community,” he said.
“But I wanted to do something that was wholly for the community.”
Foodlink founder Amy De Paola said the meals would be delivered to local families.
“Sometimes it’s not about food insecurity, sometimes it’s about giving a meal, knocking on the door to make sure everyone is okay,” she said.
Mr Marsden said while the pandemic had put pressure on business owners like himself, it was important to remember those in greater need.
“COVID has had a huge impact of business owners like myself, as well as our staff,” he said.
“The things that I’m going through are nothing compared to the homeless people or the disadvantaged kids.”
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