ASRC Food Drive

As an Ignatian school dedicated to the service of others, charity is a large part of our community identity.

Last week, the Student Representative Council and Ignatian leaders across the school banded together to hold a school-wide food drive for the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC).

The ASRC is a not-for-profit organisation based in Footscray, Melbourne, which supports and empowers people seeking asylum who live in our community. Established in 2001, the organisation has grown from an informal foodbank to the largest independent humanitarian organisation in Australia supporting people seeking asylum. They provide food and material aid, legal aid, detention advocacy healthcare, education, training and employment pathways. According to their website, “the aim of the ASRC is to support the wellbeing of its members and empower them to be independent and to have agency over their own future.”

COVID-19 has had a devastating effect on the asylum-seeker community. With many people in this demographic employed in sectors such as hospitality and cleaning, they experienced massive job losses when the pandemic struck. Job Keeper and Job Seeker were not available to people seeking asylum. Those who have lost jobs have no government safety net, and with no other income source. The ASRC has seen a growing number of families accessing the Centre’s Foodbank resources throughout the pandemic, with around 1500 individuals relying on ASRC weekly as their primary source of food.

Approximately 70% of the ASRC Foodbank’s groceries are donated by individuals, food rescue agencies, local businesses, families, schools, churches and other community groups. Donations from schools like ours provide essential food and goods for over 1000 people seeking asylum, many of whom are children. Most of those people have no income, and many have no work rights.

Our school contributed hugely to the ASRC (see photo below!) particularly in a time when the ASRC need more donations than ever.

Thank you so much to everyone who donated – every single item counts! An extra big thank you to our incredibly diligent SRC representatives, Year Level Coordinators and Ignatian leaders for being fantastic leaders.

An extra big shout out to Sarah Tolan of 7 Miki, who organised a fabulous donation target for Years 7 and 8 – what a star! Any families who would like to contribute can drop off items when we return to onsite learning.

Coco Bullock  College Captain