If you're after a cheap, nutritious meal in Dunedin on a Monday or Friday afternoon, south is the way to go.
From this week, American-Kiwi couple Jackie Bannon and Liam Arthur are serving up hot meals from their Dunedin Bowling Club food truck in South Dunedin for just $4 a pop (if you bring your own bowl) or $5 if you don't.
Liam Arthur and Jackie Bannon Photo: Dunedin Bowling Club / Facebook
Meals bought from the food truck, which will be parked outside the South Dunedin Community Network building, can either be taken away or eaten in a cafe-style space within the community centre, Jackie tells RNZ's Nathan Rarere.
"People can come and get a feeling of abundance and be nourished by affordable and good food."
She and Liam have been talking about a cheap food project since they first met as volunteers at an eco-tourism lodge in Ethiopia.
The couple's first business idea was an Ethiopian cheese factory making use of cow's milk which often goes to waste in that country, Liam says.
When a civil war got in the way of that plan, Jackie and Liam ended up in Dunedin looking for a food-related business idea that felt meaningful to them and also fun and new.
Now instead of making cheese in Africa, Liam uses waste from the local Evansdale Cheese Factory to create bread and ricotta for Dunedin Bowling Club
Their menu, which will include coconut curries, cornbread with chilli beans and chicken & lentil stew, will always include a vegetarian option.
To offer affordable food and earn themselves a living at the same time, Jackie and Liam have to be careful to keep costs super-low by using food waste products that they can get either for free or very cheap.
The pair previously worked together as caterers in the US, making meals for up to 300 people at a time, so they're used to cooking in bulk, Jackie says.
To make the Dunedin Bowling Club sustainable as a business, the couple hopes to feed a similar amount of people each day their food truck is open.
Where and when: The Dunedin Bowling Club food truck will be parked at the South Dunedin Community Network (278a King Edward Street, South Dunedin) between 3:30pm and 8pm every Monday and Friday.
A selection of food made by the Dunedin Bowling Club Photo: Dunedin Bowling Club / Facebook
