Published on: 15 June 2023





Every Friday afternoon, 15 of our Year 10 ENCOMM (Environment and Community Cadets) cook up a storm for the 1000 Meals Program. The aim of the program is to produce 1000 nourishing meals in 2023, that are both simple and of good quality, for distribution to those in need via our partners, PortCare. The School has a longstanding relationship with PortCare through our Food Rescue program, however the 1000 Meals Program is a new initiative, made possible thanks to a grant by the Parents’ Association which covers the cost of all food ingredients, and food packaging/distribution costs.

The boys are joined by two staff, Emmie Del Borrello and Mel Hastie and go across to MLC, who have generously offered the School the use of their excellent Food Science Kitchen. Each week, the boys prepare, cook, pack and label meals to give to PortCare. These meals vary – butter chicken with rice and vegetables, apple crumble, homemade pasta, and beef ragu are just some of the hearty meals the boys have prepared.

In Term 1, the 1000 Meals team prepared and sent off 295 meals. So far this term, the second group of 15 boys have delivered 332 meals, so they are well on their way to achieve their target of 1000 meals for the year.

Neil Saggers, Director of Activities, commented on the success of the program to date. “Emmie and her team are doing a great job! Boys are enjoying the Friday afternoon activities, and we will have the next group of 15 participate in this program in Term 3. Feedback from the boys and staff has been very positive, with some boys also making meal suggestions for coming weeks. The boys even took home the pancakes and french toast recipes on Friday 12 May to cook for their Mums on Mothers Day that weekend.”

Charlie, a representative from PortCare, commented that these contributions have a meaningful impact in the community. “The feedback we have received from the community has been very appreciative. The walk-ins we get are people needing a feed, and we need to provide something quick and easy, so these meals have come in very handy. We have given some to primary school children who come to school with no lunch.”

The three groups of 15 Year 10 boys will have the opportunity to participate in this program in 2023, rotating from the environmental or aged-care activities into the 1000 Meals Program for one term of cooking. We also have 30 boys involved in Food Rescue with Secondbite, and 50 boys involved in service work with environmental projects and Aged Care providers.

Thank you to MLC, the Parents’ Association, Neil Saggers, Emmie Del Borrello and Mel Hastie for their ongoing efforts and support of this worthwhile initiative.