Three Rotary clubs in Dubbo are cooking up a free feast regularly for regional residents in need of kindness and company.
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Guests of Macquarie Home Stay are being fed "wholesome and nutritious" meals three times a month by the Rotarians who ask for nothing in return.
Macquarie Home Stay offers affordable accommodation for people needing treatment at Dubbo Hospital.
Its first stage, comprising 14 rooms and common areas including a kitchen, opened in January.
The modern kitchen is where people from across the region are coming together to eat and talk.
The Rotary Club of Dubbo South provides dinner for guests on the first Wednesday of the month, the Rotary Club of Dubbo Macquarie on the second Wednesday of the month and the Rotary Club of Dubbo West on the third Thursday of the month.
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Guests and their carers are enjoying the likes of barbecued meat and salad, and casseroles.
Absentees, including guests too unwell to come out of their rooms or having treatment, can find a plate of food put aside for them.
Leftovers are being refrigerated for guests and "when appropriate" frozen for people who arrive at Macquarie Home Stay late and hungry.
Its managing director Rod Crowfoot reports that the Rotarians came to him and not the other way around.
"This is something the clubs have asked to do," he said this week.
"They have since got together to talk about how much they enjoy being involved and that they would like to make it a regular feature on the calendar.
"The clubs are aware of it happening elsewhere at similar accommodation providers such as Rotary Lodge at Port Macquarie and the Western Care Lodge in Orange."
The managing director said the dinners served "two purposes", one being nourishment and the other social opportunity.
He said there were a number of guests "looking for some friendship or someone to have a bit of a chat with".
"The dinners are a really nice way of bringing everyone out," he said.
"Some of the guests are here by themselves so having somebody willing to help them is really important."
Up to 20 guests and carers are attending each dinner.
"The guests have very much enjoyed them and appreciated the clubs' willingness to provide a meal on a regular basis," Mr Crowfoot said.
