- When pub manager, Priscilla, heard about truckies often struggling financially to feed themselves, it played on her mind
- When tourists weren’t flocking through her doors, it was the truckies that kept the pub running and Priscilla wanted to thank them
- She came up with a ‘pay it forward’ scheme, so truck drivers could have a free meal when they needed it and later, when they can afford to, buy an extra meal the next truckie on tough times
- After putting up a noticeboard for the vouchers in the pub, Priscilla posted about the scheme online and it went viral
- Priscilla Meli, from Torrens Creek, Qld., shares how her scheme became a huge success…
A customer sat at my bar shaking his head.
“Our poor truckies in Australia are doing it tough,” he said.
He explained he’d stopped to help another driver to fix an airbag on his vehicle.
The bloke told him he only had $200 to go from Townsville to Perth but offered him half as a way of thanks for helping.
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“But I thought, how’re you going to feed yourself for four days on a hundred bucks,” the customer said.
He shook his head ruefully.
“Geez, that’s terrible,” I said.
I’d been running the Oasis Exchange Hotel for over a year and we saw plenty of truckies travelling through. We always offered them free showers and a hearty meal.
When the tourists weren’t in, it was the truckies that kept our doors open and I wanted to look after them.
That night, I discussed what I heard with my partner Col, 61.
“What if we shout a couple of meals for truck drivers that need it and later, when they can afford to, they can buy a meal for the next one on tough times?” I said.
“Like a ‘Pay it forward’ scheme?” Col asked.
“Yeah, exactly,” I said.
So in February 2024, we put up a noticeboard on a wall in the pub with a headline: Truck Drivers – doing it hard this week?
Then it said: Pay it forward. These drinks and meals have been purchased for you by kind people.
We put a few receipts up ourselves to get the ball rolling and soon guests were paying for extra meals when they paid for their own.
The docket would then be stuck up onto the noticeboard and any struggling truckies who needed a meal, could take it to the bar and we’d make it for them.
The idea was that the next time they came through town, if they were in a better financial position, they could pay for another truckie’s meal.
It was something we hoped would sustain itself and help people out because everybody gets in a tight spot occasionally.
I posted about it on our hotel’s Facebook site and on a few truck sites and it instantly went viral.
A woman from Brisbane posted saying she wanted to buy a meal and how could she do it. I gave her our phone number.
Within 24 hours we were getting calls from people all over Australia wanting to help.
Many donors were ex-truckies who were pensioners, or came from a family background of truck drivers.
One woman in Victoria bought five steak sandwiches and four hamburgers.
“This is so heart-warming,” I said to my daughter Victoria, 18, who helps run the pub. “Everyday Aussie battlers, wanting to lend a hand.”
Truckies keep our nation going, but they often felt undeserving of the help.
The other day I overheard a truckie complaining about how he was in a tight spot so I suggested he take part in our scheme.
“Are you sure?” he said, humbly.
“Yes mate, go on,” I said. “Keep the money in your pocket and grab something off the board.”
It’s not just truckies doing it tough. I’d like to encourage all business owners to offer a pay it forward scheme.
Even in a cost-of-living crisis, Australians want to come together to help a mate out if they can.
It’s just the Aussie way.
