By Molly Magennis
Victoria University (VU) will continue its partnership with SecondBite, providing free frozen meals for students to take home.
SecondBite is a not-for-profit organisation that works alongside restaurants, supermarkets and other food suppliers to salvage excess fresh food to distribute to people in need.
VU first collaborated with SecondBite in July 2021, and since then a team of staff and student volunteers have handed out thousands of the meal packs to students who were struggling during the pandemic.
The service will continue to run this year twice a week from an outdoor pop-up tent at VU’s Footscray Nicholson Campus, where registered students can choose up to five delicious meals each week.
On Wednesday March 16, VU Vice-Chancellor Professor Adam Shoemaker and Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Peter Radoll joined the volunteers to distribute the meals and meet VU students.
Professor Shoemaker said the program was a fantastic initiative that helps to provide practical support for students.
“Not only is it making a difference to their lives, but it also recognises the University’s commitment to protecting the country by helping us recover healthy food that can often go to waste,” he said.
Luciano Freire is an international student from Brazil who is currently studying a Master of Secondary Education at VU. He said the service was very important to students like him who are on a tight student budget.
“I go weekly and I calculate I am saving about $50 a week. I always enjoy the variety of food and I like meeting other students, including students like myself from other countries.”
The pop-up tent is open on Wednesdays from 11am-1pm and Thursdays 3-5pm.
