Food Hub brings together food, sustainability and community by providing UNSW students with free and nutritious food all while reducing food waste. But how does Food Hub actually work?
Food Hub began in 2020 by giving away food hampers to students. It has since evolved into the Food Hub we know on campus today – a free food pantry where hundreds of students come several times a week to take what they need from the selection of food on offer.
UNSW FoodHub on Campus, Source; Lili Tisch-Bostock
Items vary week to week but will often include bread, fruit, vegetables, milk, non-perishable items, and hot meals.
While Food Hub is a UNSW initiative, it is open to anyone in the community. The organisation’s mission to provide free food to students and to reduce food waste is funded by Arc, UNSW and the City of Sydney.
“Food Hub is about more than free food,” said Krishna Lalasa, UNSW student and Community Officer at Food Hub. “We help people with the cost of living while cutting food waste – it’s a win-win for the community and the planet.”
“All the food that we get is good, not good enough for supermarket shelves but still good to eat. What we do is we rescue all that food, which is still good to consume, and then give it back to the community,” said Krishna.
Food Hub sources their products from the organisation Food Bank, Australia’s largest hunger relief charity which provides surplus food to a variety of charities and school breakfast programs.
Food Hub also sources from local supermarkets and community donations, saving food that would otherwise go to waste.
Products past their ‘best before’ date won’t sell in supermarkets but are still good to consume.
“If it’s a good enough product, even after the best before date we give it out. We don’t ask anyone to take it and if they’re not comfortable, they don’t have to take it. But we never give out products which are past their use by date,” said Krishna.
Nothing goes to waste at Food Hub, where sustainability is at its core. Everything is recycled, even down to plastic bread tags which are even collected and given to design students, who turned them into spoons for Food Hub.
Food Hub was a great way for international student, Rajeshwari, to manage living costs in Sydney. She regularly visited Food Hub before becoming a senior volunteer.
“I get to meet lots of new people and they’re happy getting something for free. I’m happy to be part of something serving the community,” she said.
To collect food from Food Hub, you have to bring your own reusable containers to ensure that they remain as environmentally-friendly as possible.
“We really want people to bring their own containers and bags, which are reusable and not single use, to try to be more environmentally friendly,” said Krishna.
Food Hub also champions sustainability through donated clothing which are free to take as you enter. They have also recently expanded to hygiene products so students can access important items like shampoo, body wash and laundry detergent, which are available with reusable containers.
To attend Food Hub, just register online beforehand. Food Hub is open at UNSW Kensington Campus on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2pm to 4pm, as well as on Fridays from 12pm to 2pm. For Kensington students, Food Hub is located near Gate 2, High St, between the UNSW Fitness and Aquatic Centre and IGA.
Don’t worry, Paddington campus students, Food Hub is also held at the UNSW School of Art and Design Paddington campus on Tuesday from 12pm to 2pm except the first Tuesday of every month. Food Hub also operates at the Darlinghurst Community Space, located at 277 Bourke St Darlinghurst on the first Tuesday of the month from 12 to 2pm.
Food Hub is constantly looking for new volunteers to join the team, and UNSW students are welcome to apply at any time during the year. To sign up click here, scroll to the bottom of the page and click next to continue your application.
“Food is essential,” Krishna said. “It shouldn’t be a privilege to access food. Everyone should have access to basic needs.”