Benjamin Millar
Victoria University Polytechnic students have helped send a big thank you to frontline healthcare workers helping get Victorians vaccinated.
The team of culinary students prepared 400 lunches at Nicholson Street campus’ ‘Venue’ last week, delivering them to healthcare workers across testing and vaccination hubs in Sunshine, Sunbury, Melton, Werribee and Flemington Showgrounds.
VU associate director major partnerships Natalie Zaibak said VU has been looking for ways to show appreciation for the heavy load placed on frontline Western Health healthcare workers over the past 18 months of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“There’s obviously been this unprecedented demand on their workforce,” she said.
“We wanted to do a day where we provide them some lunches and we thought why not get our certificate three and certificate four commercial cookery students involved.”
Ms Zaibak said the gesture was also a valuable real-life scenario to give the Polytechnic students some practical training in planning for a large scale event.
“It was a good opportunity for us and the six students involved to get that in –depth experience and do something on a really large scale,” she said.
“Remote learning has been really difficult for those more vocational studies, as much theory as they can do online, they still really need to get their hands working and focus on some practical skills as well.”
Ms Zaibak said the relationship between Victoria University and Western Health has always been strong, but will only strengthen in coming years via projects such as the new Footscray Hospital.
