ROdown Blog
STREAT Talking
It is easy to take every day things for granted, because they just are. Waking up in the morning and having your first hot cup of coffee, grabbing a piping pie on your way to the train station, looking at your watch at lunch time and turning to your colleague to ask, “what’s for lunch today?”
What would you do, if one day you got up and didn’t know where your next meal was coming from? Where would you go? Would you be able to stand on a street corner and ask for help? Would you have someone to turn to?
There are so many not for profit organizations working to help young people in Australian lead better lives. Every now and then you come across another, working discretely to achieve something grand for a particular group of young people. If you are part of an industry that focuses on helping young people, like Reach Out is, you eventually cross paths with others working just as hard as you are to make a difference in some small way.
This week, we came across STREAT. STREAT = Street youth + street food + street culture.
STREAT is a social enterprise providing disadvantaged youth with a supported pathway to long-term careers in the hospitality industry. They run street cafes in Melbourne where youth at risk get their hospitality training. Their food is inspired by street hawker food from around the world.
Inspired by the ability of hawkers within South-East Asia to deliver the most amazing street food dishes from very basic, portable equipment, Rebecca and Kate (the founders) started to conceptualize their mobile street cafes. A street café is essentially a cluster of vending carts which can serve a range of street food dishes to people directly on the streets. The concept removes the walls of a standard café and takes the kitchen directly onto the streets. It also brings the excitement of experiencing a live cooking demonstration, particularly as the menus chosen are often highly theatrical when being made. In this sense, the street café brings together the best elements of the outdoor café experience, a live cooking demonstration, hawker food, and watching a good busker.
Sounds pretty dam cool to me!
In the spirit of National Youth Week, check out some of the ways you can help Streat
Email this page
Not a member?
Join Reach Out to access a range of great member features.
Forgot your password?
2 Comments
Log in to join the conversation. Join Reach Out.
Michelle-InspireStaff
almost 2 years ago
Reply ReportI had lunch at the STREAT cart in Federation Square in Melbourne today. The food is fabulous and it's great to know that your cash is going to support young people. What a fabulous idea!
Alphabet
about 2 years ago
Reply ReportThis is really amazing...im glad its taken off well. I love the creative ways people are out there making a difference in the community its inspiring.