Status update: August 2023
Summer 2023 has been by far the busiest summer ever at the Campus Food Bank. We provide this update as we prepare for another record fall, with more than 15 new client registrations a day already this month. If you have any questions about this information, please get in touch.
Usage update
Since our last update, we broke another record: in March 2023 we served more than 1000 visits in one month for the first time ever. After a dip in April, we again saw almost 1000 visits in May 2023 and over 900 in June 2023, serving more than 1500 individuals each month.
Staff took a well deserved week off and closed the food bank for a week in July. We still served more than 40 clients per day. So far, August demand is at pace, and we expect to clear 950 visits this month.
On average, usage in the 2022-23 school year was 140% higher than in 2021-22. We are concerned about managing demand if this trend continues in the coming years.
We are currently spending about $10,000 on food each month to meet demand. Before the last three years, we had enough donations to meet demand.
Individuals served in 2023 so far include 226 children under 17 years old.
Please see our Spring 2023 Client Survey for demographic information and data related to why and how clients use our services. Highlights:
More than 20% of our clients cannot access the food they need beyond the supplementary groceries we provide.
One third of our clients are accessing off-campus food banks at least once a month or multiple times monthly.
Almost 30% of respondents follow a halal diet. Halal meat continues to be among our highest food costs.
More than 20% of our clients have a commute to campus of more than 30 minutes.
This year we asked if clients had wanted to but could not access other health supports: family doctor 51%; mental health practitioner 40%; dental care 38%; optometry 37%.
More than 75% of clients wanted more information about on- and off-campus resources.
Summer staff projects
Our summer students were a joyful addition to the Campus Food Bank team over the last few months. Leemah, Rhea, and Ridda undertook projects to support the expansion of our cultural food inventory, engage our community, and improve our volunteer program. As a result of their work:
We have a much better idea of the landscape in Edmonton for acquiring specialty food items including halal meats. We have begun experiments ordering halal meat from local butchers to be more economical and to meet the needs of our specific clients. This has included polling clients on their preferences for halal meat.
We have connected with CFB donors to let them know how important their support is to us, and give them updates about the crisis we’re facing.
We have improved the information available for volunteers so that they can do their job well, but also so that we can celebrate them and show them how valuable they are to our work!
The summer students also undertook about one zillion smaller projects every day to improve our CFB spaces. Their sharp eyes and thoughtful approach helped them pinpoint improvements to make the CFB a more equitable, welcoming, and helpful place. Their positive energy and immediate dedication to this work bowled us over. We are going to miss these busy summer months with you on board, Leemah, Rhea, and Ridda!
Looking ahead
Fall programming adjustments
Campus Food Bank staff have decided to expand our open hours this fall to increase the number of clients we can serve. Currently, it is often the case that clients can’t book within the same week if they need an appointment. We hope that adding extra shopping hours while increasing our prep shift capacity will ensure we can serve more clients while maintaining a good selection of food available. This also means we will be increasing our visits to the Edmonton Food Bank from twice to three times per week to pick up food.
We will be maintaining weekly Wednesday Free Breakfast in SUB on North Campus and in the Grand Salon at Campus Saint-Jean. Grocery Bus service will continue Saturday mornings on a biweekly basis. Campus Kitchens will also remain bi-weekly but we are very excited to begin programming in a real teaching kitchen in the AgFor building this fall! Programming dates will be on our website and open for registration by the last week of August.
What can the UofA community do to help?
Make a donation directly on our website or by bringing items to our office.
We are always looking for volunteer drivers! Email us if you may have weekday time to do food pickups for us.
Thank you everyone for your support of the Campus Food Bank!
Warmth and solidarity,
The Campus Food Bank team
