Trish and Peter deliver bread with love to those who need it

It’s 5:15 pm on a Monday and Wagga’s Hot Bake Bakery is closed for the day.

But there is activity inside, where Trish and Peter Hilton are busily sorting through leftover bread, pastries and pies.

“Some days you could have 50-odd pies and sausage rolls left over, or sometimes there’s more of the sweet things,” explains Peter as Trish writes out names in black marker on a pile of white shopping bags.

“We just come and put a name on the bags and work through our list and try to deliver as many bags as we can.”

The retired couple has done this every Monday night for the past 20 years, gathering the bread and distributing it to those in need.

They were surprised and humbled to be named Wagga’s Community Heroes for 2022.

“We were just flabbergasted, really,” says Trish with a self-conscious shrug.

“We just thought – why us? I don’t feel like we do much, but I guess we are just representative of all those wonderful volunteers in the community who just put in so many selfless hours for other people.”

Trish and Peter are quiet achievers and were nominated by an anonymous parishioner at the South Wagga Anglican Church (SWAC), which they attend.

They are active members of the church community, supporting initiatives such as the playgroup Mainly Music, the Chain Gang working-bee group and other local charities like Carevan.

Wagga MP Dr Joe McGirr presented the award last week.

“Both Peter and Trish are always willing to give a helping hand, get food out to people in need, tackle small projects and care for people both in their church community and beyond,” he says.

“Wagga Wagga is extremely fortunate to have people like Peter and Trish, who are quietly and modestly devoting so much time and effort to assisting their community.”

SWAC’s senior minister Scott Goode describes the couple as “real salt-of-the-earth-type people”.

“They’re people that quietly and behind the scenes, without any fanfare, serve others and look for the wellbeing of the community.”

Peter is a former builder, while Trish was a draftsperson before becoming a mother and moving into childcare.

They have spent their lives in the Wagga community and have enjoyed supporting families in need with their weekly bread runs.

“We’ve met so many lovely, warm, hospitable people,” says Trish.

She explains that the delivery list is put together by word of mouth through the church network and over the years they have come to know many families from a wide variety of backgrounds.

“Some of the people on the list kind of become really close to you, and most don’t frequent the church,” she says.

“From time to time, people come into your lives and just need a helping hand and they kind of come and go and you do what you can to help.”

Peter agrees and adds that their community work is a practical expression of their Christian faith.

“We’re not people that would want to stand out the front of the church or preach or do anything like that,” he explains.

“But in a practical way, we can feel that we’re doing things that help people.”