Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320.

20/06/2026

🥰🍀🥳Today was a special Cook Up - one of my regulars turned 60🥰🍀🥳

For privacy reasons, I'll call him "Darrell". He's a lovely Aussie gentleman who loves a yarn and, honestly, he just seems like a Darrell.

What many people wouldn't realise is that Darrell currently lives in his car.

Earlier this week I asked him what he'd like for his birthday lunch. He thought about it for a moment, then said, "I know. That delicious lasagne you made a while back. The one with the roses on it."

"Roses?" Then it clicked. "Ohhh, the cherry tomatoes (cherries)!" 😂
"Yep, that's the one."

😍 So today, Darrell got his birthday wish, along with all my Saturday regulars doing it tough.

❤️ On the menu this week ❤️
Entree: Crispy Gnocchi with Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Munni Farm Sausages and Brown Butter
Main: Slow-Cooked Oozy Beef Lasagne with Salad
Dessert: Homemade Chocolate Ganache Tart with Fresh Berries
Plus bottled water, biccies, serviettes and fruit for tomorrow 😋

Darrel is one of the nicest blokes you'd ever meet. Loves a yarn. Always asks how everyone else is going before talking about himself. He never really got over some of the things he saw during his service years. He's getting help now, which is so wonderful, but life hasn't always been kind to him.

I guess my point is this - Please don't judge people. Everyone has a story. Everyone is carrying something we can't see 💙

🎂Along with his birthday meal, Darrel also received a few extra surprises: a handmade crocheted blanket, scarf and beanie (he got to choose the colours!), a full toiletries pack, some choccies, books, a couple of fun trivia games and new reading glasses.

😁The grin on his face could have lit up the whole park🎂

👏This week alone, 90 hot home-cooked meals went out through our Cook Ups.

🙏❤️Huge thank you snuggles to my beautiful-hearted friends Tim Wood, Cameron Wood and Steven Leonard, who donated $100 each!!!

❤️Their generosity covered both of this week's Cook Ups, Darrel's birthday goodies, and allowed me to start buying gifts for all the children coming to our special 'Christmas in July' dinner. Absolute legends ❤️

It also happens to be Tim's birthday today too - Happy Birthday, Timmy Pie 🥳

Next Thursday & Saturday we'll be handing out ALL our 'Winter Warmer Hampers', including thermal singlets, bed socks, beanies, gloves, blankets, jackets, toiletries and shelf-stable food and meal kits.

💝If you'd like to help, we'd love your support. Donated items are always appreciated, but cash really is king! It allows us to fill the gaps, buy fresh produce directly from our local farmers, growers and makers at the Thursday Earth/Slow Food Market, and pick up all those last-minute essentials like containers, paper towels and freezer bags.

And while I've got your attention... Our big 🥰Christmas in July🥰 community dinner is coming up on 25 July.
We'll be serving delicious three-course traditional roast meals, drinks and gift bags for local families and children - FREE!

🙌 We're still a long way from our target.
PAY IT FORWARD
For just $10, you can buy someone local a hot meal and a seat at the table.
One-off donations help fund the next Cook Up. Small weekly, fortnightly or monthly donations help me plan ahead, buy smarter, and make sure these meals keep reaching the people who rely on them.
Account details are in the top comment.

🥰Please wish Darrel a happy 60th birthday in the comments. I'll make sure he sees every message🥰 I truly believe nobody should spend their birthday feeling forgotten.

I'm not a chef or a big business, totally unfunded. Just a local lady who believes everyone deserves nutrition, to feel seen, loved and remembered. 💝

Thank you to all my beautiful-hearted people for being part of this incredible journey. It takes a tribe.
🥰🍀🍒 MESSAGE me here only - Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320.. 🥰🍀🍒

18/06/2026

⚠️ NOTE — NO PERSONAL MESSENGER UNTIL 10th JULY ⚠️

VERY frustratingly, I won’t have access to my personal Messenger until 10th July (you might have seen earlier post). I can read your messages, but I can’t reply.

Why? “Suspicious activity.” What? Replying to loads of genuine Christmas in July enquiries, which Facebook (Facebook for Creators) has mistaken for possible spam. 🙄

I’ve messaged, emailed and called Meta to explain that this directly affects the system I use to feed and support people in genuine need, as well as organising Christmas in July. I even became Meta Verified — but apparently the restriction still can’t be changed??!

So, until 10 July, please only message when needed — no random “hey” messages (I don’t answer those anyway 🤣), funny memes or general chit-chat just for now.

- I still have limited access to the Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320. messages — so please message me there (instead of Emmy-Lou Carson) if it’s charity-related or genuinely needed.

- You can also email me at:
📧 [email protected]

- Friends who already have my number can text me.

I’m also not well at the moment and organising all of this from my bed, so I won’t be cooking or serving tonight. But I’ve arranged for one of my fabulous volunteers to collect all of my emergency frozen meals, so my people will still be supplied hot home cooked meals tonight ❤️👏🍜

I’m not ignoring anyone. I still love you all — Facebook just won’t let me tell you via messenger! Turd face😅💙🥰

12/06/2026

Masters of lawn and garden care, thank you both so, so much for all you do. Truly. You are friendly, genuine, professional, incredibly hardworking, and just wonderful people. You always do an amazing job. I can’t recommend you highly enough, and my friends know I only ever recommend places when I genuinely mean it. So if anyone needs lawn services, please message them.
And friends please remember to support the businesses that support the local charities in your town. It matters more than people realise.
The ripple effect... 🥰

It takes a tribe,
Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320.🥰🙏👏🍀🌟🌻

Send a message to learn more

09/06/2026

Foggy Windscreen? Here’s How to Clear It Fast

Nothing slows a Maitland morning down like jumping in your car… and realising you can’t see a thing through the windscreen.

Fog happens when warm, moist air meets a cold glass surface — and in winter (or rainy mornings), it’s super common.

🔧 Quick ways to defog your front window:
• Turn your demister on full blast (front windscreen setting)
• Switch your A/C ON (yes, even in winter!) — it removes moisture from the air
• Set temperature to warm for faster clearing
• Make sure air is set to fresh (not recirculate)
• Crack a window slightly if needed for airflow balance

💡 Pro Tip: If your windows fog up constantly, it could be a sign your cabin filter is dirty or your HVAC system needs a check.

Clear vision = safe driving — don’t hit the road until you can see properly!

📍 89 Elgin Street, Maitland NSW
📞 (02) 4934 7262

Cherry’s Automotive Repairs — clear advice, precise work, and just the right amount of grease under the fingernails.

08/06/2026

🎄💝 Be Someone’s Santa This Winter 💝🎄 fans
Every year, I do my 'Christmas in July' Cook Up because winter can be brutal when you’re sleeping on the streets or already doing it tough.

On Saturday, 25th July 2026, my little grassroots initiative, Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320., will be serving FREE homemade three-course Christmas roast dinners to local people in genuine need - people who are homeless, sleeping rough, escaping domestic violence, low on food, housebound, unwell, isolated, or simply feeling alone in the world.

A hot meal matters.
But so does feeling remembered.
So does sitting down to something made with love.
So does knowing your town hasn’t forgotten you. 💝

Guests will receive:
🥣 Soups, mini quiches and bread rolls
🍽️ A range of roast meats, vegetables and salads
🍫 Chocolatey treats and desserts
💧 Bottled water, and fruit to take away
🎅 A special Christmas bag from SANTA for all the children booked in!!

💗🙏 PAY IT FORWARD 🙏💗
Would you like to be someone’s Santa this winter?
Just $10 helps put one person at the table for a hot, homemade social Christmas roast meal.

You can help by donating (message me first):
🎄 $10 to cover one meal
🎄 A Woolworths voucher
🎄 Food items
🎄 Bottled water, fruit, desserts or Christmas treats
🎄 Children’s gifts or items for Santa bags
🎄 Containers, paper towel, serviettes or other Cook Up supplies

Bank transfer:
E Carson / Charity Cook Ups
BSB: 112-879
Account: 163880559

PayPal:
paypal.me/EmmyLousCharity

🙏💗 A one-off donation helps make Christmas in July special.
A weekly gift, even $10 a week, helps keep people fed every Thursday night throughout the year 🙏💗

- There is no funding and no big organization behind us. We are all volunteers. It’s simply me, cooking and planning week after week, year after year, with the help of beautiful, kind people who choose to care.

💝 NOTE: And for peace of mind, I have a beautiful, caring 'Dream Team' of volunteers. I make sure anyone volunteering directly with children needs a 'Working With Children Check', and I do my best to make sure this stays a safe, kind, no-judgement space. Always 💝

🫵Need a meal?
Please message me privately to go on the list.
Please include how many adults, how many children, and any food allergies.

When: Saturday, 25 July 2026
Where: Central Maitland, NSW 2320
RSVP: ASAP. Saturday, 11 July 2026 - spots always fill up very fast!

💗And if you can’t donate right now, please don’t underestimate the power of a comment/share/love/tag. It helps this post reach the right hearts, the right homes, and sometimes the person who really needs to know this meal is here for them.

Let’s wrap our town in care this winter🥰

🙏💗 Thank you for helping make Christmas in July special for our community 🙏💗

It truly takes a tribe, and I’m so grateful for mine. Feel free to message any questions.

🍒🙏 Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320 🙏🍒

05/06/2026

This message stopped me in my tracks. 🥹

🥰 In May, 264 nutritious & delicious meals were shared through Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320. 🥰

And for a little unfunded grassroots initiative, that means a whole lot of planning, messaging, shopping, chopping, stirring, cooking, packing, serving, delivering… and washing up. So much washing up. 😅

The real story is that someone doing it incredibly tough felt remembered. Someone felt cared for. Someone felt welcomed, included and human again.

A warm meal matters, of course it does. But so does having somewhere to sit. A friendly face to talk to. A safe moment to breathe. A little reminder that you have not been forgotten.

🥰 Every meal I make is cooked with love, and I always try to pack in as much goodness as I can - 5+ veggies in EVERY meal, plus water and fruit whenever funds and donations allow. Because people doing it tough deserve food that is nourishing, comforting and made with care too.

💓These meals go out for free to local people who are homeless, sleeping rough, escaping domestic violence, experiencing food insecurity, housebound, unwell, isolated, or simply feeling alone in the world.

And every now and then, a message like this comes through and reminds me exactly why I keep going.

To everyone who quietly showed up in May in all the beautiful ways you do, thank you. ❤️

Big hugs to:
The Food War Inc. Beresfield
Lady Blackbird Sourdough & Pastry
Hope UC- Hope Unlimited Church Maitland
Maddies of Bolwarra
Paterson Butchery
Nebo Farm
Just Been Laid
Maitland CWA
Rotary Club of Maitland Sunrise Inc
Murray Consulting Solutions

And to: Steven Leonard, Leanne Yeomans/HCLC Preloved Clothing Shop, Sue Towns, Selena Mirisch, Chiquita.

Leigh Priestley, Margaret Mavin, Croce, Kandie Bond, Mary Shepherd Kenneth, Victoria Knowles, Thomas, Lily Amos, Loreen Presland, Bob Turner, Shell Mortensen, Danny Mortensen Hunter, Nadine Harvey, Cara White, Monk, Corinne Wright, Mel Gallagher, Karen Burrell, Araluen Studio, Teresa Dubbeldam, Ree Borg - all so thoughtful, thank you 👏

Every donation, every grocery bag, every “I’ve got a few things for you, I'll leave them on your porch” became something real for someone doing it tough. A hot meal. A full belly. A little comfort. A reminder that someone cares.

💓 I also want to be honest.
Donations have slowed over the past few months, while the need continues to grow. This little charity only keeps going because the community keeps backing it.

And with winter here, and my 'Christmas in July' 3-course sit-down meal coming up, I’d love to be able to keep saying yes to as many people as possible.💓

If you’ve ever thought about helping, now would mean so much to my regulars.

😍EVEN $5 A WEEK helps turn ingredients into meals, and worry into something a little more hopeful.

Pay It Forward
Shout a hot meal for someone sleeping rough or doing it tough this winter, or set up a small weekly donation.

Bank transfer
Emma Carson / Charity Cook Ups
BSB 112-879
Acc 163 880 559

PayPal
paypal.me/EmmyLousCharity

Or message me for other ways to help.💓

To my beautiful-hearted community, thank you for being part of this incredible, emotional, enriching journey,

Feeling very grateful. Let’s keep sharing the love folks. It truly takes a tribe.
🥰🍀🙏Emmy-Lou’s Charity Cook Ups - Maitland 2320. 🥰🍀🙏