UNews - food hampers

Food bank continues to serve a valuable need

trevor.kenney — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:34:28 +0000

Bringing Home The Bacon challenge on throughout February

The phrase "one must eat well in order to learn well," has never been truer than it is today.

Twenty years ago, graduate students at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta launched the first campus food bank and today there are more than 70 student food banks nationwide. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU) is proud to be the host of one of those food banks.

The issue of starving students comes as a result of a number of factors, including increased tuition rates, a shortage of youth jobs and ever-rising food prices. The reality is that most students rely on some form of financial assistance to supplement their post-secondary educations and all too often they stretch their funds by going without healthy meals.

The ULSU recognizes the financial constraints involved with post-secondary education and offers students both single and family-sized food hampers that are designed to give those in need a healthy alternative to going hungry. However, the food bank is a limited resource, as it is a volunteer-based service that relies completely on donations in order to survive. Events such as the Faculty Food Bank Fundraiser are hosted by the Students' Union to help meet the food bank's needs.

For the month of February, bright pink piggy banks can be spotted in departments throughout the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. Faculty, staff and students are all asked to dig deep and "donate some bacon." The fundraiser entices its contributors by offering a foodie gift basket and snacks delivered to the department that donates the most bacon, metaphorically speaking.

"This year, I thought it would be a good idea to add some incentive to the project by offering a food-based prize," says organizer Brady Schnell, ULSU vice-president Operations and Finance. "Last year, $298 was raised and it is my hope to beat that this year by offering a prize and extending the fundraiser to an entire month."

Schnell says that the demand placed on the campus food bank has increased significantly over the last couple years.

"We provided 154 single hampers and 80 family-sized hampers last year," he says. "This past November we provided 45 hampers in a single month!"

The ULSU supports a number of initiatives that benefit the food bank. Just last month, Schnell was involved in a local food and beverage exhibition where student volunteers received enough donations to fill six food hampers and were also given an additional $200 to go towards supporting the food bank's needs.

Schnell says the demand speaks for itself and he's thankful to everyone in the community and at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ who support the needs of students.

To donate to the food bank, look for the pink piggy banks or visit the ULSU in SU180.

Cookbook to benefit SU Food Bank

trevor.kenney — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:51:46 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Bookstore has embarked on a fundraiser for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union Food Bank.

The bookstore is putting together a cookbook, which will feature a collection of U of L staff and faculty recipes. The cookbook will be published on campus and all proceeds from the sales of the book will go to the Students' Union Food Bank.

The SU Food Bank helps hundreds of students each year deal with food insecurity issues, allowing them to focus on their academic priorities. The Students' Union understands the financial constraints involved with earning a university education and has implemented this service so that students do not go hungry.

Food hampers are available in both single and family sizes, and are designed to last about a week. Students, staff and faculty are all eligible to receive food hampers. An individual is able to obtain a food hamper once every two weeks, limited to a total of 10 hampers throughout their entire academic career.

The food bank is a limited resource because it is a not-for-profit, volunteer run organization that depends entirely on donations to operate.

"The food bank has proven to be an essential service to U of L Students and we are always so grateful for the continued support from the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community, as well as the Lethbridge community, in order to continue to meet students' needs," says Armin Escher, ULSU president.

Any staff or faculty member who would like to contribute to the cookbook can submit their favourite recipes to the bookstore via e-mail (bookstore@uleth.ca) by June 20.

"We, at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Bookstore, are very excited about the launch of our new fundraising initiative for our Students' Union Food Bank," says Rebecca Colbeck, U of L Bookstore. "This campus is a community, and it is important that we all work together and support one another. The cookbook will give faculty, staff and students the opportunity to share some great family recipes and really make a different to those in our community."

The cookbook will be available to faculty, staff, students and the general public to purchase in the Fall 2012 at the U of L Bookstore.

Food bank a valuable service

trevor.kenney — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:39:28 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students' Union (ULSU), an organization mandated to aid students and governed by students, offers a long list of excellent services to the student population throughout the year; but few are as valuable as the ULSU Food Bank.

Formally introduced by the ULSU General Assembly in 2004, the ULSU Food Bank has been growing with every new academic year. Last year, the Food Bank provided over 140 food hampers, both single and family, and saw a consistent increase in new students utilizing the services from the previous year.

The food hampers are designed to assist a student or a family for a period of five to seven days and each contains various healthy food choices. Students are eligible to utilize the Food Bank's services twice a month up to a maximum of ten times throughout their entire academic career.

The Food Bank is a donation driven service and the ULSU hosts numerous fundraising events every year to ensure that the shelves remain stocked and the hampers are plentiful. This year's fundraising efforts kicked off in September with a Car Wash and BBQ held at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Drive Alliance Church (UDAC).

"With the help of UDAC, the General Assembly, our friends at CKXU, community members and volunteers, the ULSU raised $350 to stock the Food Bank shelves," says VP Operations & Finance Leyland Bradley.

The last week of October brought on the second fundraiser of the year, the Trick or Eat Food Drive. Trick or Eat pits campus clubs against one another in a friendly competition to see which of them can raise the most donations, both edible and monetary, through an extensive community canvassing campaign.

At a time when rising education costs and living expenses are scrutinized and discussed at every societal level, and students are feeling the financial pinch more than ever before; now is the time to champion services that facilitate the post-secondary experience.

The ULSU Food Bank is an invaluable service to many ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students that is only made possible by the generous donations from the Lethbridge and area community, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge community and countless individual donors and volunteers.

If you are a student who requires assistance or you wish to donate to the ULSU Food Bank, do not hesitate to visit www.ulsu.ca, our offices in SU180 or call 403-329-2222 for more information.

This story first appeared in the November issue of the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

UNews - food hampers

Food bank continues to serve a valuable need

Related Topics

Cookbook to benefit SU Food Bank

Related Topics

Food bank a valuable service

Related Topics