ASRC Food Justice Truck's new Melbourne CBD truckstop

Food Justice Truck. No, it's not a transportation vehicle for avengers, nor does it dispense fast food. The Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's food truck is more mobile greengrocer than burger van. Its mission: to help Melbourne's asylum seekers access and afford fresh food.

The truck's fruit and vegetables are sourced from Spade & Barrow, a social enterprise that buys the whole crop directly from the farmer for a fair price. The hessian-lined wooden crates also display Dench bread, Storm in a Teacup teas, preserves, rice, grains and pulses. Members of the public can buy fresh produce and pantry staples at market rates, helping to subsidise a generous discount (75 per cent) for asylum-seeker shoppers.

Iranian asylum seeker Shali* visited the first regular Thomastown truckstop on Tuesday and thought the Food Justice Truck was "a brilliant idea". Shali arrived in Australia two years ago and has a tight budget to feed her small family.

"I can tell you that with the income that we are receiving and having [a] bridging visa and all the limits that we have, it is hard to get by," she says.

Shali says the 75 per cent discount for asylum seekers is good value. However, she would like to see the truck stock a wider variety of vegetables so she can make torshi - traditional Persian sour pickles.

According to the resource centre, asylum seekers on average have $20 per week to spend on fresh food.

The Food Justice Truck was funded via a crowd-funding campaign backed by high-profile musician Gotye, which raised more than $150,000 last year.

The truck will officially launch at City Square in Melbourne's CBD on Wednesday July 12, with performances from supporters Clare Bowditch, The Cat Empire and Circus Oz, and will trade from 11am-3pm.

From next week, city-slickers can buy fresh produce at Wesley Church in Lonsdale Street, where the truck will park on Wednesdays.

The Food Justice Truck also makes weekly pit stops at Footscray and Thomastown primary schools, with locations planned for Dandenong, Brimbank and Dallas.

Locations:
■ Thomastown Primary School community garden, Spring Street, Thomastown, Tuesdays 3pm-6pm
■ Footscray Primary School, corner Geelong Road and Barkly Street, Footscray, Fridays 3pm-6pm
■ Wesley Church, Lonsdale Street, Melbourne CBD, Wednesdays noon-6pm (from August 19)

See asrc.org.au/foodjustice

*Not her real name