General News
27 October, 2022
Milk donation proves hit
MERCY Regional College (MRC) Senior VCAL students have been honing their employability and barista skills within their in-house coffee business ‘Grind and Grow’.
MERCY Regional College (MRC) Senior VCAL students have been honing their employability and barista skills within their in-house coffee business ‘Grind and Grow’.
The students were fortunate to receive weekly 10 litre donations of fresh milk from Otway Pastures to support their developing enterprise.
Otway Pastures is a local company 100 per cent owned by four Victorian farming families from the Otway Ranges.
These families have a firm commitment to creating healthy products, healthy farming practices and a healthy business that can be passed onto the next generation.
Many of Otway Pastures multi-generation farmers are former families of Mercy Regional College who have strong connections with the college and the wider community.
MRC VCAL teacher Dan Glennen said the students appreciated the donations.
“We are sincerely thankful for Otway Pastures’ support of our VCAL program and the inspiration for our students to make better coffee using high-quality local produce,”he said.
“The healthy milk, kindly delivered to our McAuley Campus by Kooler Dairy, makes every cup of VCAL coffee tastier.”
Mr Glennen said the coffee business had allowed the students to experience working within the hospitality industry as they serve staff and senior students made-to-order drinks.
“They are responsible for running every aspect of the business and our staff can testify that their professional and personal skills have improved greatly in the course of the year,” he said.
“Mercy staff and students loved starting their mornings with a hot cup of coffee professionally made by the VCAL team.
“To expand their business next year, the college is planning to purchase a mobile coffee trailer with the funds raised from our Car Raffle 2022.”
VCAL student Melinda said the donation of milk had given the initiative a boost.
“We would like to say a big thank you to Kooler Dairy and Otway Pastures for their ongoing support and their generous donations of milk each week,” she said.
“It has helped us immensely with the growth of our VCAL business.”
Fellow student Kathy agreed.
“We have been using the donated milk to make coffees, chais and hot chocolates for our staff and students,” she said.
“I plan on being a barista for my first couple of jobs, so the skills I am learning may help me with future employment in hospitality.”
Classmate Biannca said learning how to make coffee with the MRC ‘Grind and Grow’ program has helped the students develop valuable skills they can use within workplaces including communication, time management, team work and critical thinking.