The Grace Centre was launched in early 2016 after our local church Grace, purchased the old Rokeby Tavern in late 2015 with the aim of supporting our community through the creation of a central meeting hub for the Clarence Plains area. It wasn’t much to look at in the beginning but we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. Since then we’ve been busy with the ongoing renovation of our run down old pub, transforming it into a beautiful space that serves our local community and the wonderful initiatives that so many of our locals are engaged in.

We are slowly seeing our dream come to pass. It’s amazing what a group of ordinary people can accomplish when they have a go. Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can, has been our mantra right from the beginning and serving others has been our motivation in everything we’ve done.

In 2019 One Community Together moved into one of our brand new offices and now has a permanent physical presence in our community. There is so much happening in Clarence Plains that we can all be proud of and our future is looking brighter all the time.

Partnership with Loaves and Fishes

We’re super excited about our partnership with Loaves and Fishes and in 2023 we will be partnering with them in our refurbished kitchen at the Grace Centre to greatly enhance their ability to provide food to needy Tasmanians along with providing traineeships for local young people who are keen to get involved in the hospitality industry.

Loaves and Fishes Tasmania CEO Andrew Hillier said the new southern kitchen meant the organisation could double its capacity to provide fresh, tasty, and nutritious meals to those doing it tough.

“At present, we are making meals in Devonport and transporting them to Hobart,” he said.

“We are incredibly thankful to the Grace Centre for wanting to serve their community and the many generous partners who invested in the development: Healthy Tasmania Fund, Rotary, Grace Church, and Presbyterian Care.

“It has taken a long time and much patience to get from concept to completion due to COVID and a significant cost increase due to the building boom and the resulting increase in materials.”

Taken from the Loaves and Fishes website . . .

Emergency Food Relief

We provide free emergency food relief to all Tasmanians needing help.
We rescue and redistribute surplus and donated food, much of which would otherwise go to waste. Food is supplied to more than 220 community partners as ready-to-eat meals, school breakfast supplies, made-to-order food hampers and fresh fruit and vegetables.

Employment Pathways

Providing training, work experience and opportunities to volunteer are integral to our mission to deliver food and hope. Our Devonport kitchen and Hobart and Devonport warehouses offer school-based and adult traineeships, including for those with disabilities, in areas such as warehousing, cooking, hospitality and administration.

Some of these events take place in other places in our community and not at the Grace Centre, so make sure you check the location before rocking up.

NEWSFLASH! Funding for the redevelopment of our kitchen has been approved!

As many of our community would know, the old Village Green Tavern had a kitchen which provided meals for patrons for many years. Along with the rest of the building it had fallen into disrepair and was well and truly past its use by date. It needed a complete rebuild if it was ever to be operational again. Back in 2017 we started discussions with Loaves and Fishes, a statewide organisation that provides emergency food relief for vulnerable families and those who have fallen on hard times, about the possibility of turning our kitchen into a food preparation centre and a place that could offer traineeships for those wanting to pursue a future in the food industry. So we made a start (Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can) and now have secured the last piece of funding needed to turn our dream into reality. The build should be completed late 2022 with the kitchen fully operational by early 2023!

We would like to extend a huge thank you to all our community partners who have been nothing but encouraging! And also to those putting the cash on the table to get this project over the line, Grace Church, Healthy Tasmania, Prescare and Rotary.

We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which the Grace Centre is located, the muwinina (mou wee nee nar) people. We pay our respects to Elders, past and present. The Grace Centre is committed to honouring the Tasmanian Aboriginal communities’ unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and seas and their rich contribution to our shared home.