UNE Life Advocacy & Welfare, who has been running a twice weekly food pantry full of staples and frozen meals during the COVID-19 shutdown, have recently noticed a need to also supply students with fresh fruit and vegetables. 

According to students who attend the Food Pantry, fresh fruit is one of the first things dropped off the shopping list under a tight budget. Yet fruit is essential to students wanting to stay healthy or get a quick sugar boost during long study sessions.  Naturally occurring sugars in fruits are more beneficial than a chocolate bar or two and fruit can also be an excellent source of health-boosting antioxidants as well as vitamins, minerals and fibre.   

In response to this need UNE Life Advocacy and Welfare in conjunction with the UNE Life Catering Team under General Manager of Food and Beverage Scott Leven have introduced Queue Free Fruit Friday, 

The plan is to package four to five pieces of fresh fruit or vegetables and deliver them to every resident in the UNE college system on every second Friday for the rest of Term 2.  

Fruit bags will also be placed in college common rooms after lunch for students to help themselves. 

“We are always looking for ways to support our students and now it’s so important we all band together as a UNE community to make sure everyone is looked after,”  Scott Leven said.

There is a future plan to make up a “Home Kit” style box of ingredients at a monthly market stall at Wright Village where one of the Café Life chefs will teach a simple recipe to help students prepare healthy meals.