MUSA partners with Just Zilch to provide nutritious food for Manawatū campus
Studying, Covid-19, and the outrageous cost of living. This is just a short list of hardships students across the country have to constantly juggle. An additional struggle that students juggle, but never should, is access to healthy food. Massey University Students’ Association (MUSA) is looking to solve that problem through their recent partnership with food waste company, Just Zilch.
Each week, MUSA will be setting up a stand outside the Concourse to give away over 30 food boxes filled with fresh fruit, vegetables and cooking essentials. This partnership is expected to continue indefinitely throughout the university year.
“Students already face so many problems, access to good kai should not be one of those,” says Melissa Scott, MUSA Student Advocate.
“Everyone knows how pricey fresh food can be. It’s sad to see students being forced to eat nothing but unhealthy kai when they need to fuel their brains for study,” Scott continues.
So far, the partnership has received positive feedback from students on campus. In their first few weeks of operation, over 100 students have received Just Zilch care packages. MUSA expects this number to grow steadily over the year.
“As the year goes on, and more people are aware of this new service, we believe more and more students will get involved.”
“We know it can be hard for students to step forward for help. We are making this process as simple as possible. This is not a hardship grant, you do not need to plead your case or provide any details, you just have to show up,” Scott continues.
Just Zilch is New Zealand’s longest running free store. Since their creation in 2011, Just Zilch have provided over 440,000 Kiwis with free kai. Just Zilch receives excess kai from local food providers that would have been thrown away, and then gives this to those in need, free of charge.
MUSA has also received a $5,000 grant from the Environment Network Manawatū. This money is being put toward the creation of an on-campus community garden. This will be situated close to the University dorms, and will allow students to take produce as it grows.
“The community garden will not only provide more nutritious kai for our students, but also a place to get away from the mental strains of university.
Scott describes these initiatives as “heartwarming” and believes taking this burden away from students is the least MUSA can do.
To receive a Just Zilch x MUSA care package, look out for announcements on MUSA’s social media pages every Thursday. This works on a first in first serve basis.