For many students, it can be incredibly challenging to work full-time (or even part-time) while giving your degree the full focus it requires. When money is tight, it can be hard to keep the fridge and pantry stocked, and maintain a healthy diet week to week. The UNSA Pantry is a collection of food initiatives designed to address the growing levels of food insecurity amongst students at the University of Newcastle.
The UNSA Pantry operates every week during regular semesters & includes the following services:
Free Food Friday
Our ‘Free Food Friday’ service provides students with free groceries every Friday morning during regular semesters. Food donations are delivered each week from Oz Harvest which is then sorted, packed, & quality-assured by our frontline UNSA Crew.
Currently this service is only available at our Callaghan UNSA Building.
Please arrive by 8:45am to receive a numbered ticket. Tickets will be drawn at random at 9:00am.
Please note that Free Food Friday is a very popular service, and we cannot guarantee enough stock for every student attending.
Grocery Hub
We know that some weeks are better than others when it comes to finances, especially when you’re supporting yourself through university. Our Grocery Hub service is a backup supply of long-life pantry items, available for students to collect for free when they’re experiencing financial hardship.
This service is entirely reliant on food donations – so whether you’re a student or university staff member – if you are able to donate, we would love to get you involved! You can help us by popping in an extra item or two (if you can manage) into your weekly shopping trolley and bringing it along to one of our donation bins (or you can donate in person at your closest UNSA office).
All donated items need to be sealed. Our UNSA staff will properly sanitise all items before we distribute them to students.
Grocery Hub’s are located at Ourimbah Shop101, and also our Callaghan UNSA Building.
Free Breakfast Bar
Our free Breakfast Bar is available every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday during regular semesters, between 9am-11am.
This service is for current University of Newcastle students only, and you will need to show a valid UON student card upon arrival. This service is currently only available at our Callaghan UNSA Building.
The free Breakfast Bar includes:
- Variety of cereals
- Toast
- Fresh fruit
- Coffee & Tea
- Juice
- Plus other seasonal options
$4 Frozen Lunch
Forgot to pack lunch? There’s some great food options on campus, but we know that sometimes money is tight – or perhaps you’re just trying to save for that group trip to Bali.
We have a variety of frozen meals available at our Callaghan UNSA Building, with vegetarian and gluten-free options too. Available for purchase from the front desk – just $4 each!
(Microwaves available)
Let's Talk
If you have a question about the UNSA Pantry or would like to confirm whether one of our services is operating this week, please use the button below to open our Messenger chat.
