Food Justice Truck gives away $64,000 worth of food to people seeking asylum in 2015

Amassing a total of $121,000 sales so far, the Food Justice Truck (FJT), ASRC’s mobile market which offers a discount model of pricing, with people seeking asylum given a 75% discount has sold $91,000 worth of fresh ‘nature’s grade’ produce sourced mainly from local farmers, which includes the staggering totals of 2.3 tonnes of bananas, 1.8 tonnes of oranges, 1.5 tonnes of carrots, just over 1 tonne of apples and 41 kilograms of chillies.

In the 9 months the FJT has been running, operations have expanded from Footscray to include Thomastown and the CBD, with regular weekly schedules resulting in the serving of some 4,000 customers in the community.

“This discount has resulted in $64,000 worth of free produce provided to people seeking asylum in only the 9 months since launching.” explains FJT Manager, Russell Shields.

By accepting ‘nature’s grade’ produce – that which has been rejected by the big stores for not being pretty enough – the FJT reduces crop wastage by putting quality produce back on the market, as such delicious fruits and vegetables were grown to be eaten, not eyeballed. The wonkiest of carrots is still a delicious meal (with a little chilli).

On top of that, 2,300 baguettes and loaves of sourdough bread have been snapped up by customers, provided by Dench Bakers in Fitzroy. The FJT customers are not limited to people seeking asylum, and the additional generosity of the community has raised $1,000 in cash donations on top of sales.

As the truck is staffed by 28 volunteers, none of the funds generated are spent on wages and all profit goes back into the truck, to feed those who should not go hungry.

2016 will see the Food Justice Truck once again branching out and bringing great produce to yet more locations around Melbourne. Keep an eye on the website as the scheduled openings for Brimbank, Sunshine, Dallas and Dandenong will be announced soon. For the time being, starting on Wednesday 20 January, the Food Justice Truck can be found at the following locations:

• Every Tuesday, 1:30pm–5:30pm at Thomastown Primary School, Spring St, Thomastown. Enter via High Street or Stewart Street
• Every Wednesday, 11:30am-2pm in front of Wesley Church Melbourne, 148 Lonsdale St
• Every Friday, 3–6pm at Footscray Primary School, cnr Geelong Rd and Barkly St.

The 75% discount is offered to all people seeking asylum, and one need not be a member of the ASRC to qualify. Asylum seekers can demonstrate their status by showing the following types of ID; Immigration card, ASRC membership, temporary Medicare card, asylum seeker concession Myki. For further information visit: https://asrc.org.au/foodjustice/