Through integration with the university’s existing online ordering and cashless payments partner, My School Connect, 1000+ students will now be able to place requests for late lunches and late dinners through the My School Connect app.  

This year, students residing in fully-catered residential communities on-campus at UNSW Sydney will experience enhanced dining options amidst their demanding academic and social commitments.

A cutting-edge pilot program featuring high-tech thermal food lockers was introduced this week to facilitate this initiative.

With over 600 students dining daily at Goldstein Hall from The Kensington Colleges, Fig Tree Hall, UNSW Hall, and International House, meal times often become hectic.

The implementation of thermal lockers, coupled with the advanced technology provided by Australian startup Foodifox, will now allow students to access hot and freshly prepared meals beyond the conventional lunch and dinner hours, catering to their varying schedules.

Located at the entrance of the main dining hall where students enjoy more than 1000+ meals a day, the locker unit consisting of 17 individually heated cubicles is designed to keep food safe, secure, and perfectly hot.

The pilot – the first of its kind in the Australian education sector – was initiated by corporate caterer Catering Project, to help improve the dining, and overall university experience for students at UNSW.

Catering Project and UNSW wanted to improve the food experience for students who would previously have to locate and reheat their allocated meals from a refrigerator, often leading to mix ups and meals not reflecting the care and effort that Catering Project Chef’s pride themselves on.

Luke Jones UNSW Sydney, Operations, Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor, Education & Student Experience, said, “The main dining hall is a vibrant hub of activity and an important opportunity for our students to build social connections while refueling their minds and bodies between studies,”

“However, we understand that students have increasingly busy academic and social lives, so this pilot will provide more opportunities for those students to enjoy the wonderful nutritious food provided to all students living on campus, in an innovative and convenient way.” he said.

Through integration with the University’s existing online ordering and cashless payments partner My School Connect, students will now be able to place requests for late lunches and late dinners through the My School Connect app. 

Once the request is made, the student will be assigned a locker cubicle where Catering Project will place the meal ready for collection.

The heated cubicle will keep the meal hot until collected by the student. For added peace of mind the Foodifox lockers are fitted with UV self-cleaning technology ensuring that all lockers are hygienic ready for the next meal service.

To pick up a meal the hungry students simply scan a unique QR code on their phone and the secure cubicle will pop open to give them access to their hot meal ready to enjoy. 

Catering Project, Executive Chef Dominique Heitz, said, “As a chef I’m always looking for ways to improve the dining experience for my customers, through delicious, nutritious, and high-quality food.”

The UNSW pilot marks Foodifox’s first location within NSW. With 35 corporate and residential locations already in operation across the startup’s native Melbourne, Foodifox is leveraging the global momentum of thermal lockers and domestic growth in food delivery with over 7 million Australians using a meal delivery service and 7,000 food orders made hourly across the country. 

Tim Pagram, Foodifox Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder said, “The best meals are served hot, fresh and right when you’re ready to enjoy them. We’re thrilled that more UNSW students will be able to enjoy the high-quality food experience provided by UNSW through our lockers.

“The integration with My School Connect and Catering Project, is a strong demonstration of the highly-flexible and scalable ‘Self-Serve’ platform we have built at Foodifox to solve the food delivery and collection challenges at high-volume catering, residential and corporate locations around Australia.” he said

Rob Rossi, My SchoolConnect CEO & Founder said, “Our platform is already the hub of cashless purchases and food ordering for students around the country, so this pilot integration with Foodifox provides yet another convenient way for students to access their meals.” 

Foodifox aims to alleviate the challenges of food delivery in tall residential complexes, educational facilities, and corporate settings. Its solution empowers drivers and caterers to deliver food directly to designated lockers, accessible to users through their smartphones, streamlining the process for everyone involved.