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.

Przybylski honoured by province

trevor.kenney — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 17:26:59 +0000

More healthy food products are on the shelves because of the efforts of three Alberta food producers and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researcher Dr. Roman Przybylski, (chemistry and biochemistry).

All four were recently recognized for their work with a special Premier's Award.

"Our province has an abundance of talent for producing healthy foods," says Premier Ed Stelmach. "Through the annual Alberta Food for Health Awards, we are able to bring attention to the healthy and delicious home-grown choices made available to Albertans by Albertans."

Przybylski was awarded for healthy food and nutrition research. Other award recipients include: the Spring Creek Ranch for healthy Alberta food sold through a retail outlet; the Seniors' Association of Greater Edmonton (SAGE) for healthy Alberta food sold through food service; Gordon's Homemade Sausage for healthy Alberta food for specialty diets.

Przybylski was selected as the Healthy Alberta food and nutrition researcher for contributing to leading edge research in the development of Omega-9 canola oil; a high-quality frying oil suitable for the same uses as traditional oils. The conversion of Omega-9 canola oil from hydrogenated oil helps to remove unhealthy trans and saturated fats from the North American diet. Providing this alternative can positively impact health problems such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

Przybylski's research is helping to improve Alberta's food oil industry's processing and preparation practices while improving nutrition. Finalists in the award program had their products consumer taste-tested at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development's consumer testing centre in Edmonton. The winners receive $10,000 each to promote their products or invest in future business growth and research.

Alberta Health and Wellness, Advanced Education and Technology, Agriculture and Rural Development, Alberta Innovates Bio Solution and Alberta
Innovates Health Solutions jointly manage the Alberta Food for Health Awards program.

The awards were developed to encourage food producers and researchers in the province to develop and research healthy food choices. For more information on the awards visit www.albertafoodforhealthawards.com.

The Alberta government is working to build a better Alberta by fostering economic growth, strengthening our health and education systems, investing in infrastructure, supporting safe and strong communities and ensuring a clean and healthy environment.

UNews - healthy food choices

Food bank a valuable service

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Przybylski honoured by province

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