USASA Pantry

Fuel your studies with fresh food!

At USASA, we’re dedicated to helping students thrive – and that starts with access to free and low-cost fresh fruit, veggies, and pantry staples. With the USASA Pantry, you can enjoy nutritious food without financial stress, so you can focus on your studies and wellbeing.
 

Pantry Pop-Ups

Next pop-ups:

🗓 Thursday 21 November
📍 City West – Outside Between Student Lounge & Sit Lo
⏰ 11:30 am – 1:30 pm

🗓 Thursday 28 November
📍 City West – Outside Between Student Lounge & Sit Lo
⏰ 11:30 am – 1:30 pm

Please bring your own bags for shopping. We will have some available but cannot guarantee a supply.

We try our best to keep our costs low and supply consistent; however, our pricing may fluctuate depending on what is available, seasonal, and cost-effective.

Due to supply fluctuations, we will need to limit the amounts of certain products so we all get to share in the produce supplied.

Receipts will not be given unless specified.

End of Year Market

Treat yourself and celebrate the end of the year! The End of Year Market is on Wednesday, 4 December, 11 am - 3 pm at City West, Hoj Plaza. Here's what to expect:

🛒 Stock up on free and low-cost groceries from the USASA Pantry⁠ (students only)
👔 Get thrifty at the USASA Op Shop (ALL ITEMS $1)⁠
🎁 Make your own gifts for friends and family⁠
🍕 Enjoy FREE pizza and slushies⁠

Both Staff and Students are all welcome to join – Let’s end the year on a high note! 

More Information

'Use By’ dates

• Critical date mark showing when a food must be consumed by
• Used on highly-perishable foods, including ready-made meals, meat, dairy and cooked food
• After expiring, food with a ‘Use By’ date can be risky to eat as it may contain harmful bacteria or be dangerous to eat
• It’s unsafe to keep food that has passed its ‘Use By’ date even if it looks perfectly fine
• Frozen food can be kept if it is frozen before the ‘Use By’ date and can normally be kept for up to 18 months after freezing

‘Best Before’ dates

• Suggested date mark showing when a food starts to lose some of its quality or flavour
• Used on foods that aren’t dangerous to eat if they pass the ‘Best Before’ date
• Normally used on canned or tinned foods, packaged products, long-life juice or milk, fruit and vegetables and pasta
• Generally safe to keep for up to six months after the ‘Best Before’ date has passed

Food safety tips

1. Wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap before cooking, after touching your hair, nose, eyes, or raw food, after smoking, patting your cat or dog, or going to the toilet.
    
2. Wash fresh fruit, vegetables and herbs before eating. Don’t wash meat, fish, chicken or eggs. Use separate chopping boards for raw meat, seafood and vegetables. Do not use any food if it has passed the ‘Use By’ date.
    
3. Keep food out of the ‘temperature danger zone’ between 5 and 60°C, so keep cold food in the fridge or freezer, and hot food should stay warm before it goes in the fridge. When you defrost food, don’t let it defrost on the bench or under water, leave it in the fridge or defrost in the microwave.
    
4. When storing hot leftovers, only put them in the fridge after they have stopped steaming. Check your leftovers in the fridge and only keep them for 2-3 days before freezing or throwing them out. You should only refreeze defrosted food if you defrosted it in the fridge.
    
5. Take special care with your high-risk foods. These foods should be stored safely and not eaten after they pass their ‘Use By’ date. High-risk foods include:

• Dairy products like milk
• Raw and cooked meats and seafood
• Premixed salads
• Cooked rice and pasta
• Food containing eggs
• Ready-to-eat meals like sandwiches, rolls and pizzas