U of A Campus Food Bank grocery bus sees increased demand – Edmonton | 24CA News
A University of Alberta Campus Food Bank program helps college students entry extra low price grocery shops.
“Sometimes it can be hard to get to more low cost grocery stores if they’re out of the way, so I think this is a great way to get there without using a car,” Campus Food Bank volunteer Courtenay Chu mentioned.
The grocery bus runs as soon as every week leaving from outdoors HUB mall each Saturday morning.
“Last week we had a lot of people show up, because it was the first bus of the semester, so people are stocking up on groceries which is great,” Chu defined.
The bus stops at totally different grocery shops like Superstore, T&T Supermarket and a few specialty retailers on 34 Avenue.
“Being able to get to T&T or get some cultural foods you may not be able to get nearby,” Chu mentioned.
The grocery bus began pre-pandemic.
At the time, a few dozen college students would make the most of the weekly service.
The program was paused for 2 years due to the pandemic and now it sees on common about 30 college students each week.
“What we’re hearing, especially from our international student clients this year, is that the budget numbers they were provided by the university with guidance on how much money to set aside for their day-to-day living was really underestimated — and inflation was moving so quickly this fall,” Campus Food Bank govt director Erin O’Neil mentioned.
“A lot of students who came from different countries are affected by the fact that our grocery prices have gone up so much since they originally budgeted.”
The Campus Food Bank itself continues to see excessive demand with not solely inflation however rising tuition additionally taking part in a component.
“We’re on track to hit about 700 visits per month and that’s about where we’ve been at throughout the fall,” O’Neil defined.
“At the Campus Food Bank it depends on the time of year, because we have students receiving loans at different times of the year, or running out of those loans at different times of the year.”
O’Neil mentioned to assist with pupil meals insecurity, the meals financial institution expanded its free breakfast program to Campus Saint-Jean within the fall of final 12 months.
It’s additionally engaged on placing extra snack stations throughout the college, as shopping for meals on campus is pricey.
“We have a lot of folks here who are really good at taking care of themselves and cooking for themselves — they are just having a hard time actually affording the food to do it,” O’Neil mentioned.
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