{"id":5513,"date":"2021-09-02T05:15:26","date_gmt":"2021-09-02T05:15:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/?post_type=mec-events&#038;p=5513"},"modified":"2026-03-02T10:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T23:33:33","slug":"collaboration-is-key-to-providing-food-security-to-international-students-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"mec-events","link":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/events\/collaboration-is-key-to-providing-food-security-to-international-students-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Collaboration is key to providing food security to international students during COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Ms Sarah Parrington<sup>1<\/sup><\/strong><\/span>, Ms Jodie McDonald<sup>1<\/sup><\/p>\n<p class=\"AbstractBookAffiliations\"><em><sup>1<\/sup>StudyAdelaide, Adelaide, Australia<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Financial pressure has always had a major impact on international students\u2019 wellbeing. In the wake of the global pandemic and consequent job losses, the pressure was amplified, and we saw an unprecedented level of food insecurity among international students in Adelaide. This growing need was evident with our local NGOs reporting a significant increase in international students presenting for emergency assistance. The situation was complicated by the NGOs\u2019 assessment processes \u2013 the students were required to wait up to two weeks for an interview \u2013 which had flow-on effects for the NGOs\u2019 limited resources. Through consultation with the NGOs we were able to quickly develop an innovative streamlined free food voucher program \u2013 circumventing the assessment process \u2013 that was administered by StudyAdelaide. Being able to access the vouchers online through StudyAdelaide, a trusted and known source, was of great benefit to our students who either did not know where to get assistance or were stigmatised about approaching charities for help often due to cultural or societal attitudes. StudyAdelaide\u2019s independent status also removed students\u2019 fears that admitting their vulnerability would impact their academic results or visa standing.<br \/>\nThe food voucher program was a great success and testament to the power of collaboration and innovation. The relationships established from this program have continued to provide opportunities for further collaboration into the mental health space. Find out more about this unique partnership, which was funded by the Red Cross, administered by StudyAdelaide, distributed via five NGOs, and provided invaluable assistance to thousands of students at their time of need.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Biography:<\/strong><br \/>\nSarah joined StudyAdelaide in early 2015 as the Student Engagement Manager supporting international students from pre-arrival through to farewell through all sectors of international education in South Australia. She completed a Bachelor of Tourism and Event Management at the University of South Australia which included a semester abroad at Buffalo State College (USA). After her first experience as an international student, Sarah then set her sights on the Mountbatten Institute in New York City to complete a Postgraduate Certificate in International Business Practice whilst working for a private equity firm in Manhattan. In 2015 Sarah joined the ISANA SA\/NT committee before becoming the Vice President of ISANA SA\/NT in 2017 and President in 2019.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ms Sarah Parrington1, Ms Jodie McDonald1 1StudyAdelaide, Adelaide, Australia Financial pressure has always had a major impact on international students\u2019 wellbeing. In the wake of the global pandemic and consequent job losses, the pressure was amplified, and we saw an&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123483,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"mec_category":[70],"class_list":["post-5513","mec-events","type-mec-events","status-publish","hentry","mec_category-innovation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mec-events\/5513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mec-events"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/mec-events"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123483"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5513"},{"taxonomy":"mec_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitefordemo.com\/isana-demo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/mec_category?post=5513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}