UNB Saint John program aims to fight student food insecurity: ‘It’s a major issue’

Students facing food insecurity on the UNB Saint John campus can now benefit from a student-led initiative providing bi-weekly food bags to those in need.

“Without food, students can’t focus on school, it’s hard to work on assignments, to do your best,” Angel Côté, wellness co-ordinator for UNB Saint John’s student representative council, said on Friday.

“We wanted to focus on food insecurity, it’s a major issue students here on campus face.”

Students can sign up online, indicate any dietary restrictions and allergies, and pick up their food bags the following week at the Student Resource Centre.

Côté said 30 students have already signed up for the program, which is paid for by the university’s alumni association.

Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab Director Sylvain Charlebois is working on a study about food insecurity on campuses across Atlantic Canada.

“We are aware that there are more and more students visiting food banks nowadays just because of food prices. Food affordability has been an issue across the Atlantic,” he said in an interview on Saturday.

He said beyond food prices, access to affordable food can be an issue for students who live on campus, as they are unable to get to grocery stores.

He said international students can be particularly vulnerable to food insecurity.

“They may be coming from a country where their currency is crashing, not doing so well, so the money that they have to spend in Canada is not as much as it used to be,” said Charlebois.

He said his study, which he expects will be completed in June, will also be looking at the effectiveness of student-led initiatives versus ones managed by the university administrations.

Côté is hoping more students take advantage of the program.

“In the future, we think it could easily pick up — we could get 50 or 100 people … or even more maybe.”