Posted: November 21, 2024
By: Emm Campbell
It’s Thursday and the clock is ticking for Louis Holman and the volunteers who operate the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) Food Bank. They’re unpacking their weekly delivery from Feed Nova Scotia and restocking their shelves with everything from rice and soup to fresh produce so they can open on time.
Making the educational journey easier
Like their community counterparts, campus food banks such as the DSU Food Bank and the Agricultural Campus’ Food Pantry have seen increased demand this year, driven in part by rising food costs and other living expenses. Rising to meet this need, post-secondary schools across Nova Scotia are once again joining with Dal to raise funds through The Food Security Project on Giving Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Launched in 2020 by Dal in partnership with the J&W Murphy Foundation, the Project is playing a key role in addressing student food security through donation matching by the foundation. Last year, the Project raised nearly a quarter-million dollars provincewide on Giving Tuesday. This year, Dalhousie aims to raise $90,000 for the Project and gifts will be tripled thanks to the J&W Foundation’s pledge and a personal matching gift from a loyal Dalhousie alum.
Changing the community for the better
For Krishna, a Master of Applied Computer Science student, having weekly access to the DSU food bank gives him peace of mind. “I’m vegetarian and produce is very expensive, so the selection here really helps,” he says. “I feel relaxed knowing that I can get what I need and focus on my studies.”
Holman, who uses they/them and he/him pronouns, wants the DSU Food Bank to continue meeting that need but also succeed at a higher capacity. In addition to increasing hours of operation, they are planning renovations that would enable the food bank to add a food prep area and more fridges and freezers. They also want to launch food literacy programs that help students reduce their grocery bills and extend the life of their food. Every gift made on Giving Tuesday will go a long way to making these goals, and more, possible.
“With everything going on in the world, it’s easy to feel helpless sometimes,” Holman says. “But there are a lot of ways that we can change our community for the better and Giving Tuesday is an important one.”
