As of October 1, SFU’s Food Bank will be launching a pilot program aimed at increasing awareness of the options available to undergraduate students who may need extra assistance in making ends meet.
After considering several logistical models including a voucher program and a food hamper system, the Food Bank working group has decided to offer food certificates for Nesters’ market, the grocery store on Burnaby campus, to students in need.
Students will be able to receive $25 gift certificates to Nesters’ three times per semester during the pilot phase. However, the gift certificates are not conventional; they can only be used for sundries — tobacco, lottery tickets, bus passes, and pharmaceuticals are restricted.
Chardaye Bueckert, SFSS External Relations Officer, expressed the SFSS’s desire to elicit feedback from the SFU population while providing a food service on campus during this transitional period.
The food certificate system was chose for its flexibility and anonymity.
The overhaul of SFU’s Food Bank began this July, when Student Services told the SFSS that they were withdrawing their food distribution services. Student Services cited issues of waste, inadequate cold storage, and a lack of knowledge of best practices when making this decision.
Bueckert explained that Student Services will still play a role in the SFSS Food Bank Program, but as an educator instead of a distributor. Their contributions will include producing educational materials with information about cooking on a budget and resources in the community, as well as creating outreach and volunteer coordination elements and a free food location on campus.
In addition to allowing students to purchase fresh produce and ingredients, the food certificate system was chosen for its flexibility and anonymity. The SFSS general office will now be handling a majority of the administrative work, which includes organizing the food certificates so that students can pick them up anonymously after filling out a simple web survey.
The SFSS will be continuing the Food Bank Program pilot phase for the duration of the fall 2013 semester, with intent to continue it in the Spring based on feedback from Food Bank users.
“We really hope that this [program] will ensure that the students in need are able to access it,” concluded Chardaye.
