Fruit and Vege Co-op future rocky

A lack of volunteers means that Massey’s popular Fruit and Vegetable Co-operative may not continue next year.

The co-op is a partnership between Massey and Wellington Regional Public Health, which sees $12 bags of fresh fruit and vegetables made available to staff and students on the Wellington campus.

Each bag sold saves staff and students around $8.

The vegetables are brought in bulk from local Wellington growers and are supplied to Massey, to be packed at Kāinga Rua Residential Hall and then distributed.

There are on average between 40-50 orders a week, or about 120 students and staff ordering on a semi-regular basis.  

Student, Ursula Carter, gets the bags for her flat every week.

“We find that its such a cheap and convenient way to get fresh fruit and veg every week and always ensures that we all have a good intake fresh foods in our diets.

“It is such good value for money and a real convenience for students, we always look forward to finding out what we’ll have in our bag every week.

“It has been a very useful service for us and it is a shame to hear it may not be continuing next year.”

Development Administration Officer, Anna Lees, has worked on the project for the last few years.

“We see that the co-op has significant value to students helping them eat healthy and spend their money well.

“Setting up good habits in uni will help them succeed and have good wellbeing for the rest of their lives.

“It would be disappointing to see it finish, there’s not really an alternative that provides the same benefits.”

Lees says, ideally the project needs three volunteers and a co-ordinator to run smoothly and they are now on the look out for students who might be willing to help out.

The volunteer work consists of about an hour of work per week and a co-ordinator position of about 6 hours per week.

If interested, students can contact co-op@mawsa.org.nz