Launching a new look at the Campus Food Bank

As fall excitement builds and the UofA community returns to campus, we are very excited to launch a new look for the Campus Food Bank!

The past few years have been challenging at the CFB. We managed to never close operations during lockdowns, instead pivoting to delivery and hybrid models that allowed us to continue feeding hungry students. The University of Alberta community showed up for us over pandemic; while our demand has increased significantly, so has support of our work. We are immensely grateful to our volunteers, donors, community connectors, and other supporters whose energy, time, and resources are critical to fighting student food insecurity here.

Summer 2022 has been an opportunity to reflect on the programming we’ve been able to deliver during extremely difficult circumstances. It has given our staff and volunteers a chance to plan some new ideas for the fall, to feed more students and build conversations around food security on our campus.

This is also the Campus Food Bank’s 30th anniversary of operations at University of Alberta. We’ve come a long way from a food pantry operated out of the GSA offices in the early 90s. Now, we offer a range of programming for both food access and food education, and we’re expanding our advocacy work as well.

When we began considering having a new logo designed for the CFB, the team was very keen to work with local graphic designer Emily Chu. Many of our staff and volunteers are fans of Emily’s work as a designer through the Royal Bison Fair, and she has also worked on major design projects across the city including with our friends at the UofA Sexual Assault Centre.

Emily created a suite of new logos for the Campus Food Bank and our various programs. CFB staff and volunteers collaborated with Emily to ensure our new look is approachable and fun while acknowledging the diversity of our community.

We spoke with Emily to get her perspective on the CFB logo design process.

CAMPUS FOOD BANK: Could you share some thoughts on how you approached this rebrand?

EMILY CHU: I was really honored to be contacted about this project, and to work for Campus Food Bank. So I wanted that excitement and my interest in CFB programs to really show in the rebrand - Something fun, playful, friendly. When working with the team, I was also very happy to hear that they supported the idea of fruit/vegetable characters, so the idea grew from that initial conversation. Knowing that CFB works with a lot of international students, it was very important for me to capture diverse foods/ingredients, but to also stress the importance of tones and expressions so the characters are friendly, relatable, approachable. And hopefully creating an illustration that helps to remove barriers of access. Many of the illustrations tie back into ideas of community care, sharing, and caring for one another - With some cute characters and humor!

CFB: What do you hope students feel when they see the logo designs?

EC: I hope that it sparks curiosity and invites them to engage with the programs. And at the minimum, making someone smile is a great way to start relationships! I hope that the characters' expressions/actions are relatable to all students, beyond languages. And the illustrations encourage a healthy and sustainable relationship with food in stressful student life.

CFB: What do you love about food and sharing food together?

EC: I grew up in China with a big family, and there was always food to share. Food is always an experience and a culture. I always look forward to family events where we are able to order a full table of food to sample, try, share. It is a healing experience for me, and also a way to pass down food knowledge through generations. Sharing was a big theme when working through this project. Programs like the Grocery Bus, Breakfast Program, and Campus Kitchens reminded me of my childhood, so that was a joy to explore.

Thank you Emily for creating these beautiful and delightful new characters to represent the Campus Food Bank. We are thrilled!

Questions or feedback? Please email info@campusfoodbank.com!