Te Pūkenga Horticulture students Adam Brooks (left) and Chris Mouat (right) harvesting bok choy.
Te Pūkenga Horticulture students Adam Brooks (left) and Chris Mouat (right) harvesting bok choy.
NorthTec students battling the cost of living crisis now have access to fresh food thanks to the mahi of those studying horticulture.
Fresh produce will be supplied to pātaka across Te Tai Tokerau campuses all through winter thanks to a collaboration between Student Voice NorthTec and those studying a Certificate in Horticulture.
The initiative began when NorthTec student representatives made Student Voice co-ordinator Lisa Erceg aware of the main concerns impacting students.
“It’s not easy to be a student anymore and we’re struggling to keep our students in study,” she said.
Her priority was to find out where the immediate need was at.
Their fresh produce is now grown and harvested before being transported to pātaka (street pantry) across the region on a weekly trip.
This week and last week ākonga (students) harvested a crop of bok choy.
Student Voice co-ordinator Lisa Erceg and horticulture tutor Bruce Johnson.
Chris Mouat has been studying since February and said knowing the food is going to people in need is a good feeling.
“To be able to give away nearly 100 bok choy in two weeks is pretty cool,” he said.
Mouat has an interest in self-sufficiency and homesteading. He said the supermarkets “like to change their prices”, so avoiding it is a goal in mind.
He wants to have a “fully functioning” vege garden and fruit tree area, and the skills he gains in the course will enable him to do that.
He said some of his peers also have their own land and want to develop knowledge about growing their own food too.
Mouat has worked as a manager at McDonald’s for the past five years, and he said participating in the course has been a healthy way to clear his head.
“I’m not 100 per cent sure what job I’ll go into afterwards, but it’s a good place to start,” he said.
Included in the course is learning all aspects of food production, from preparing and caring for the soil to cultivation, nursery production, planting, care and finally, harvesting.
Tutor Bruce Johnson said students have joined the course for a range of reasons, some for food security, others for a change in lifestyle or general interest in horticulture, or wanting to do a hands-on course.
He said feedback has been “really positive” from students, and given them “a sense that they’re doing something worthwhile, that they’re contributing”.
Though the pātaka will feature harvests from horticulture students, non-perishable items have also been added to the stocks, in the hopes of giving students a chance to have something to eat on or off campus.
“It’s our hope that everyone will join in,” Erceg said.
“If someone needs something now then they can take what’s available. If they have extra later, then they can place it in the pātaka for those that might be in need that week.”
