��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community comes together to support Buy a Student a Breakfast campaign

trevor.kenney — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 18:30:02 +0000

Breakfast — it’s often been called the most important meal of the day. And what if your day includes studying for or taking a final exam? It’s easy to see how a good breakfast can play a major role in ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students finding success during the most crucial time of their semester. So, let’s help them out!

The annual Buy a Student a Breakfast (BASAB) campaign begins today and as the final exam period approaches, it’s the perfect opportunity to support ULethbridge students — one breakfast at a time.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association President Cyndi Crane (BMus ’95, MEd ’01) presents a coupon to first-year student Joshua Nilsson.

“As a community, it’s really the small things that we can do for each other that help build and develop unity,” says Dr. Locke Spencer (MSc '05, PhD ’09), Chair and associate professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy. “So, when you consider what you can do to just show a student you care, this is one thing that is pretty easy for most people.”

How easy? A donation of $6 provides a student with a free breakfast coupon redeemable on campus — offering encouragement and a tangible reminder that their ULethbridge community is behind them.

The annual initiative that last year saw 1,560 breakfast coupons purchased, nearly $10,000 raised in donations, is eyeing doubling that support this year and doubling the positive impact it has for students. With alumni, faculty, staff and friends supporting the campaign, the effort sends a powerful message to students that their community is behind them.

“I was a student who received one of the coupons for Buy a Student a Breakfast during exams, and it really made me feel like I could do it and that there was a team behind me,” says Shanna Brown (BHSc ’16), coordinator of Campus Life Housing. “It means that the village is coming together. It’s our faculty, our community and our alumni who build this wonderful network of support that really wraps around our students.”

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s alumni community has long been a major supporter of BASAB and Cyndi Crane (BMus ’95, MEd ’01), president of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Alumni Association, says all alumni can relate to the pressures students face this time of the semester and how nutrition plays a part in fueling the mind and setting them up for success.

“My hope for this year’s campaign is that we reach every single ULethbridge alumni, all 55,000-plus, and I want them to go back to that moment, that moment where they were that student writing that test,” she says. “I want them to remember that time in their life when they needed support — and a breakfast like this is that warm hug that everybody deserves.”

First-year Dhillon School of Business student Joshua Nilsson is thankful to the donors who support the program.

“For sure it makes me feel supported,“ he says. “Just knowing there’s someone out there who cared enough to donate their money to help a broke student like me eat, have a good breakfast, it’s great.”

The BASAB campaign runs through Tuesday, Dec. 2, after which coupons will be available to be picked up and utilized by students during the exam period. Those looking to donate can visit: ulethbridge.ca/giving/buy-student-breakfast.

New emergency food program launched for students living in residence

caroline.zentner — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 19:55:19 +0000

Students living in residence at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge now have access to emergency food thanks to a grant from the Food for Thought committee.

The Residence Life team developed the Resident Emergency Food Fund (REFF) in response to reports of food going missing from communal fridges. The Residence Life team works to ensure students are connected with all the services they need, including food. While first-year students living in residence are required to be on a dining plan, making the plan last the entire academic year can be a challenging task for students living away from home for the first time. Likewise, continuing students who aren’t on a dining plan can also find themselves short of food.

Shanna Brown, Campus Life Housing Coordinator.

In some instances, not having enough food can drive students into taking on outside jobs to make ends meet, which also diminishes the time they have available to focus on their studies and function day-to-day.

“Students were asking us about the food insecurity measures within residence, and we didn’t really have anything established,” says Shanna Brown, Campus Life Housing Coordinator.

The team applied to the Food for Thought committee and received a $2,500 grant, which will provide grocery store gift cards and meal vouchers for the Chartwells food outlets on campus.

“We are extremely grateful to the Food for Thought committee as these funds will help us reduce food insecurity within our residences,” says Brown. “REFF is available for all of our residents, whether they’re first-year or continuing, regardless of their income.”

To access the program, students will be asked to fill out an application form and meet with a member of the Residence Life team, who will determine the long-term support needs. Along with the short-term support of a grocery card or food voucher, students will get help with long-term planning, resources and referrals.

“Supporting our students’ access to nutritious food remains a key priority on campus, and we’re excited to continue exploring initiatives like this that make a real difference. By working together, we can help ensure our students have what they need to thrive and enjoy the best possible academic experience,” say Food for Thought co-chairs Diana Letts and Crystal Volk.

Additional Food for Thought programming for students includes The Bodega, a food-sharing hub where students can pick up snacks, non-perishables, hygiene products and gently used kitchenware items; food literacy workshops; free fresh produce events and the Campus Roots Community Garden.

UNews - Shanna Brown

��Ѹ�����Դ���߿�Ƭ community comes together to support Buy a Student a Breakfast campaign

Related Topics

New emergency food program launched for students living in residence

Related Topics

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community comes together to support Buy a Student a Breakfast campaign