MUN students struggling to afford food are looking for homegrown solutions
Pop-up produce stands and campus food bank help some get by
Amid rising food prices, some Memorial University students are hoping for some on-campus solutions to food insecurity.
"Food is not something that I prioritize," said first-year master's student Hilary Hennessey, who is balancing buying nutritional staples with rising housing, energy, and tuition prices.
"I pay everything else first and then I will consider groceries — and there's not much left at the end of the day for groceries," she said.
Hennessey isn't alone.
A 2019 study by registered dietitian Lisa Blundell found food insecurity at MUN is four times more prevalent than in the surrounding population — results that came about before the cost of groceries outpaced overall inflation.
Four years later, students are still struggling to feed themselves, and Sarah Martin, an associate professor of political science at MUN specializing in food politics, describes food insecurity as a common problem for anyone balancing a food budget against fixed costs like tuition and rent.
"It's not the difference between Sobeys and Costco, it's the difference between paying tuition and not," she said.
Campus solutions
"Often myself and my girlfriend have to cut back on what we purchase and be more selective with what we buy," said student Bruce March. "It also eats into funds that could be spent on other expenses and means less at the end of the day."
Student Arman Hossain had to move home to Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic, and found a different economic reality when he got back to St. John's.
"I found it difficult to afford my bills due to the rise in grocery and rent prices. Consequently, I had to take multiple jobs while being a full-time student, which affected my academic performance," he said.
Hossain, a business administration student, sees possibility in a collaboration between the university and the students' union.
"Increasing funding to the campus food bank, organizing awareness campaigns, providing affordable meal plans, partnering with local grocery stores and farmers' markets to provide fresh and affordable produce, and working with local charities and organizations to offer food assistance to students in need," he said.
Hennessey would like to see rising food costs reflected in student loans.
"I think it would be important for the government to consider cost of living and the current economy when providing students with funds to be able to support themselves," she said.
She also pointed to programs like Kids Eat Smart, which provides breakfast for school kids across the province, or The Loaded Ladle at Dalhousie University — a student-fee funded, campus-run non-profit providing free meals several times a week.
Food on the move
The corresponding rise in demand for affordable food forced MUN's food bank to temporarily close in October.
Punit Choubey, the food bank's president, said they have been receiving more donations since then, but with inflation, the cost to fill food hampers has increased.
"The number of hampers has certainly risen considerably over last year ... [we served] less than 200 hampers at the same time last year. And with the inflation rate, the cost to fill these hamper bags have also increased. Thus, an increased support from MUNSU would certainly assist us," said Choubey.
He said MUN already supports the food bank through different activities, which covers their administrative costs.
"The board is trying to motivate MUN's employees, and alumni, to support the food bank," he said.
"If MUN employees can donate a small amount from their paycheque to the food bank, it would be an enormous support to the food bank and in return we can support more students with more food in each hamper."
The MUN students' union, however, is offering a novel grocery option. It's partnered with Food First N.L., in a program called Food on the Move — a pop-up grocery stand offering affordable fruits, vegetables, and pantry staples.
Between January and April, there were two Food on the Move pop-ups on campus, a move program co-ordinator Sarah Crocker said brought positive feedback from students.
"Seeing people look so excited to have some fresh options on campus was really rewarding," she said.
"There are folks in the university community struggling to make ends meet when it comes to affordable food."
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