More than 35 migrant and refugee women ready to become school tuckshop volunteers will no longer receive support after an innovative local cooking project failed to secure further government funding.
The Creating Connections through Cooking Program has been placing volunteers from migrant and refugee backgrounds in school tuckshops across Brisbane, Logan and Ipswich since 2019, helping them gain confidence and settle into Australia’s working culture.
However, the program has failed to receive the ongoing funding required to keep it operating, missing out on crucial support from the Queensland Government’s Celebrating Multicultural Queensland program.
The news is a disappointing blow for program facilitator, Queensland Association of School Tuckshops’ CEO, Deanne Wooden, who describes the program as a win-win for volunteers, school students and the tuckshops, which are often struggling to secure volunteers.
“The Connections through Cooking project has supported and connected over 120 migrants and refugees, creating countless positive outcomes, like increased social connections, confidence, sense of wellbeing, and for some, improved employment opportunities,” Ms Wooden says.
“The participants have benefited by increasing their food literacy, and gaining new food preparation and cooking skills, all while being able to practice English in a friendly and non-threatening environment.
“The benefit is two-fold, with schools being exposed to increased cultural diversity, while also gaining a much-needed extra set of hands to get through the busy tuckshop day, particularly amidst the volunteer drought we are currently facing.”
As part of the program, QAST has also helped more than 220 migrants and refugees apply for and secure a blue card, which enables them to work with children.
“Since the program launched, dozens of migrants and refugees have now gone on to gain paid employment at tuckshops or in other hospitality roles,” Ms Wooden says.
“We currently have 36 volunteers ready and willing to be placed in school tuckshops, but without the funding to continue to employ project managers, we simply can’t support them.”
Yuki Shi migrated from China recently and has been volunteering at the Marshall Road State School Tuckshop this year after expressing the desire to improve her English skills and learn more about Australian culture.
“Project Managers Natalie and Kamila were so accommodating when they assisted me on my first day in the tuckshop,” Ms Shi says.
“I had never worked with so many Australians before, so it was quite a challenge for me. But they understood my needs and encouraged me to express myself freely. Their thoughtfulness made me feel warm and welcomed.”
The Creating Connections though Cooking Program will continue to run until current funding runs out on 30 June 2024.
Creating connections through cooking
The Creating Connections through Cooking program involves people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds volunteering in a school tuckshop.
QAST helps to recruit community members and match them with a local school where they can volunteer. QAST support’s them to apply for and obtain their Blue Card, with program managers attending the volunteer’s first day to be orientated to the tuckshop environment.
The program was also a finalist in the 2023 Community Achievement Awards.
“Volunteer recruitment and retention is the number one challenge identified in our QAST member surveys two years running,” says Ms Wooden.
“They tell us that without volunteers they can only open for limited days of the week or may need to close altogether. And here is a highly valued project specifically focused on sourcing and supporting volunteers in school tuckshops, as well as assisting women from migrant and refugee backgrounds to feel more connected to their communities. It is just so heartbreaking that we can’t find funding to keep the project going.”
