Salient

Food bank Parcels just got BIGGER!

By Paul Brown | 1 Oct, 2007

Welfare Vice President Candidate Melissa Barnard and I sat down last week and discussed some of her ideas, and there were several. One such idea was using budget brands to increase the size of food parcels—how ridiculously simple was that idea!

So today, after taking an inventory of the food bank, I decided to sit down and go shopping; grocery shopping online that is. When it comes to shopping for the food bank I’m pleased I don’t have to push around trolleys, as that would require a lot of people power. On average we give out near 400 parcels a year and thanks to the support of Student Services we have a fairly sizeable budget to maintain this service. The funny thing is we’re about a million miles off of utilising that budget fully this year.

Anyway, I hear you asking, “what will I get extra in a food parcel should I need one?” The quantity of pasta given will now double and so will that of canned tomatoes, baked beans, spaghetti and soap. This change has decreased the average cost of a food parcel and it means you simply will get more to help you through those tough periods. This may help to elevate a little more of the stress of those in financial difficulty.

So anyway, if you need a food bank parcel you should come see us at VUWSA. The bigger parcels will be phased in during the next couple of weeks while we run down the more expensive brand stocks, but you should all know that VUWSA is here to support you.

Coming soon will be articles from student services. In my period here I have started to make some very useful connections with our friends at student services and this has occurred by simply sitting down and having a conversation with those in key positions—there are some truly lovely people out there working for students.

So on another note and with exams looming, you should all make the most of the services you have paid for in your levies. So make use of student learning support, check out disability support if you’re a differently abled person or if it’s getting all too much for you in terms of stress, check out the counselling service. Remember the staff here at VUWSA are also at your disposal and my office door is open to any student who needs any help with anything.

Attend these workshops for help with Exam preparation. You can learn some useful exam strategies and share your ideas with other students.

Revision Strategies (1hour)
Take the opportunity to learn ways to make revision part of your study routine and improve your understanding of your subject.
Tuesday 2 October 10-11am

Test and Exam Techniques
Anxious about exams? This session provides useful techniques for tackling exams and tests.
Wednesday 3 October 10-11am
Tuesday 9 October 11-12noon

Exam Essays
‘Fine tune’ your essay writing skills for exams. This session aims to show you ‘what to do’ to help enhance your results.
Thursday 4 October 1-12noon
Wednesday 10 October 10-11am

All exam seminars are held in the SLSS Seminar room, level 0, Kirk Building, phone 463 5999

Check out our website for interesting resources. Accessible anytime… anywhere!