January 2011

Hello STREAT supporters, and welcome to the New Year. We hope you’re had a lovely holiday season! Let me tell you a bit about what’s kept us entertained this past month.

We began January with a visit from our Danish philanthropists; these are the lovely investors who first believed in the little idea that was STREAT. Kim came to Melbourne to see what grew from the little seeds of her belief in the concept. She got to eat tacos, drink a cuppa, and most memorably, meet one of the graduates of our first class of trainees at her current workplace, Papa Goose. There must be nothing like knowing that an investment has paid dividends of a job path for a disadvantaged young person.

STREAT’s also been engaging in some cross-sectoral collaboration. We’re pleased to say that Second Bite are now donating a 10kg fruit box to the STREAT trainees, delivered every Monday morning. This week’s bounty includes apples, cherries, and blueberries—yum! For our trainees the fruit is a vital part what we try to do, which is introduce the young people to healthy and wholesome foodstuffs so that their nutrition is improved.

We were also fortunate enough to inherit some veggie plants (two trucks’ worth, in fact) from the Little Veggie Patch Company. They filled our office with the sweet, sharp scent of parsley, rosemary, thyme and basil. We’ve harvested green tomatoes from our new urban garden for the salsa verde that tops the tacos, and also gathered herbs for different cooking sessions with the trainees. Kinfolk have even nipped in for a bit of basil for their lunchtime special!

I hope that this food and veggie love makes for a special 2011, for STREAT and for you. Thanks for tuning in.

Sunisa