Meals with Impact

A huge thank you to Rotary Melbourne for having our amazing co-founder Nikki Blanch speak on the importance of empowering women through economic development. Nikki is always a ⭐️ in our eyes but it is encouraging to see that people from all walks of life are prepared to listen to those that are doing the heavy lifting in a pursuit to create change.

Support your local social enterprises! On my trip to Melbourne this week, I caught up with my good mate Arjun at Meals with Impact. Meals with Impact is a not-for-profit social enterprise that empowers women from migrant & refugee backgrounds to thrive through food & opportunity. Wonderful food and experience! Highly recommend. #innovation #entrepreneurship #socialenterprise

It was such a pleasure hosting the incredibly fun and energetic team from Deakin University in our private dining space. Do you have a team building event that could support social enterprise? Plus the food is delicious too.

This week, CoBL and RMIT STEM College held a joint event to mark International Women's Day. The event featured keynote speaker, Nikki Blanch from Meals with Impact who shared insights on leadership, innovation, and advancing gender equity. The session concluded with an interactive Q&A followed by a networking opportunity for attendees. Thanks to Nikki for her inspiring and insightful words and to all the organisers and attendees who made this cross-college collaboration possible.

Support your local social enterprises! On my trip to Melbourne this week, I caught up with my good mate Arjun at Meals with Impact. Meals with Impact is a not-for-profit social enterprise that empowers women from migrant & refugee backgrounds to thrive through food & opportunity. Wonderful food and experience! Highly recommend. #innovation #entrepreneurship #socialenterprise

As many Australians continue to experience significant pressure on their household budgets and food insecurity increases, our Group Business Information Services (GBIS) team came together to participate in the Food Relief Volunteering Program with Meals with Impact.   Meals with Impact is a work-integrated social enterprise (WISE) that employs women from migrant and refugee backgrounds to co-design and produce culturally appropriate meals tailored for food relief and to the wider community.   Eighteen (18) volunteers from our GBIS team got to work chopping, dicing and slicing to help prepare and then pack 233 meals into sealed containers ready for food relief. All prepared meals are donated and distributed to local charities and organisations in need via Bright Sparqe.   The team enjoyed working together in the relaxed and positive environment, learning new skills and enthusiastically supporting those in our community most at risk of food insecurity.   One volunteer, Diana Espejo, Service Stream’s Senior IT Risk Analyst shares her experience of the day.   “Volunteering with Meals with Impact is such a humbling experience. It’s grounding in a sense that a simple act, like chopping vegetables, (and) packing food, could go a long way. The fact that this is for a cause takes the whole experience to another level. I’ve never imagined myself cutting that many onions ever in my life – I think I’ve cried happy tears! Would love to do this again next time,” says Diana. Meals with Impact also operates the Docklands Hub café, where members of the community can pick up a responsibly sourced coffee, and try out various “homemade” hot meals, salads, sandwiches and more. You can learn more at www.mealswithimpact.com.au   #KeepingCommunitiesConnected #Volunteering #SocialResponsibility #FoodInsecurity Sabrina Murray Douglas Young Shane Jones Amith Chinivara Dinakar Damon Mills Monisha Shankar Dylan Hansen Max Wang Chris Tragas Ali Crilly Sonia Filipovski Sriram Venkataraman William Do Sarita T. Farzan Bilimoria Ramkumar Govindaraj Priya Thamilmani

Bespoke programs designed specifically for partner school curriculum and wellbeing needs is the cornerstone of a City Cite experience. This week we had Year 10 students from Camberwell Girls Grammar School attend a 3-day urban camp visiting places such as Meals with Impact, FareShare, The Big Issue Australia, Blue Dragon Children's Foundation and the Old Magistrate’s Court. We also had three classes from Auburn High School complete their 5-day project based learning program. The students investigated social issues such as crime and safety, addictions, immigration and homelessness. The students presented their work for critical feedback in preparation for their assessment presentation to their parents on Tuesday evening. I can’t wait to see how they go! We also had a wonderful visit from our Patron Rick Tudor who had the pleasure of chatting with staff and hearing our fabulous speaker, Tony share his incredible story about resilience. What a fabulous Week 6!

The #RBA may have lowered interest rates but the rate of food insecurity is still rapidly rising. Thanks to our corporate volunteers from Service Stream, RACV and Bank Victoria I was back at the Melbourne Market Authority gathering donated provisions to feed those in need. Through these partnerships Meals with Impact will donate around 800 #culturally appropriate meals to community food relief programs around #Melbourne. Ask yourself “How does your work community contribute to this social crisis?” If you are in search of a unique purpose filled team building experience located in the heart of the #CBD, contact info@mealswithimpact.com.au to book your session today!

Thank you AECOM for choosing to host a Women's Breakfast at Meals with Impact! What a wonderful group of women, and thank you for the opportunity to share a little about the work we do as social enterprise that is focussed on breaking down the barriers to employment for women from migrant & refugee backgrounds. We really appreciate your support and interest in what we do! As we are rapidly approaching International Women's Day, this felt like the perfect start to the next few weeks, where organisations across the globe shine a light on issues of gender equity. If your organisation is hosting an IWD event, consider booking a table or two at Meals with Impact, where your spend is going directly to supporting women's employment. #AECOM #genderequity #socialenterprise #womensempowerment For more information please visit our website and submit an enquiry: https://lnkd.in/gzRmrWCu

Wow! Its comments like this that keep us going. Lunch at the #Docklands has never been more enjoyable (nor impactful). Can’t make it to lunch. Come and contribute by providing culturally diverse food relief for communities facing food scarcity through our corporate #volunteering program. Spaces are limited so jump on www.mealswithimpact.com.au and book your place today. City of Melbourne Nick Reece Docklands Chamber of Commerce