Campus Food Bank in the media
To contact the Campus Food Bank for media interviews, please email media@campusfoodbank.com.
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“A ‘grocery store’ model can help your campus food bank reduce waste” in Times Higher Education, May 11, 2023
The switch to a client-choice model has allowed us to stock specific items in smaller quantities. It has also allowed clients and volunteers to develop stronger relationships that help us discover new ways to serve clients. But we have encountered challenges along the way and had learning experiences. Here are five tips for post-secondary food banks looking to make the switch… (read more)
The CFB is currently working with a Community Service Learning class to do a space audit of North Campus and find high-traffic areas for potential snack station locations. There will be pilot stations this fall semester, and then stations will expand “fully across campus” in the winter semester.
“When people are going in between classes, they can stop and grab some fruit snacks or a granola bar, or ideally some fresh fruit too.”
Additionally, there are plans to create an outdoor shed on campus that will serve as a 24/7 accessible food pantry with refrigeration.
“Students or anyone who needs it can drop in anytime and grab a yogurt from the fridge or a bag of rice from the pantry shelving on their way home.”
— “Campus Food Bank set to introduce new programs, facing double the demand” in The Gateway, Sept. 9, 2022
“Commuting to and from grocery stores can be time-consuming for students at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, especially when the grocery stores closest to campus are known for high prices and lack of variety. The Campus Food Bank Society recognized this obstacle and began its weekly Grocery Buses program as a solution.”
— “The grassroots food insecurity initiatives putting an end to the ‘starving student’” in Maclean’s, Oct. 7, 2021
“Since the pandemic, the university food bank had been offering services in-person through distanced pick-ups or delivery.
“According to a 2016 report by Meal Exchange, food, tuition fees, and housing costs were the most commonly self-reported contributors to food insecurity among post-secondary students. The report also found that two in five students surveyed had experienced some degree of food insecurity.”
— “Food banks aren’t meant to be long-term solutions in a pandemic: experts” on Global News, Jan. 24, 2021
“The Campus Food Bank has done lots of adjusting and planning, he said, and while the CFB is already normally open in the summer with reduced hours, lots of the people they help are graduate students who are here year-round.”
— “Campus Food Bank at the U of A adjusts operations to meet demand despite COVID-19” in The Gateway, Oct. 21, 2021
From the archives: Our 1991 launch article in The Gateway
“It's truly disheartening but strikingly real that we are forced with the prospect of setting up a food bank on campus”
— Randy Boissonnault, 1991-92 UASU VP External
Campus Food Bank in published research
“The majority of student clients of the UAlberta CFB who participated in this study lived in households that at times over the previous 30 days, were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food to meet the needs of all their members because they had insufficient money for food. The monetary value of participating students’ primary income sources may have been inadequate to meet both their educational and living needs.”
— “A Comparison of Characteristics and Food Insecurity Coping Strategies between International and Domestic Postsecondary Students Using a Food Bank Located on a University Campus” in The Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research, May 24, 2017
“Food insecurity compromises students’ health, diet and academic quality. Campus food banks are not the solution to student hunger. Governmental and university-based programmes and policies are needed to improve the food security situation of university students.”
— “Food insecure student clients of a university-based food bank have compromised health, dietary intake and academic quality” in Nutrition & Dietetics, Aug. 6, 2017
“Our analyses showed that most CFB student clients at University of Alberta were female, Canadian, lived alone, attended school full time, and were enrolled in undergraduate programs of study. Almost one in 5 CFB student clients lived with dependent children. Compared to the total University of Alberta student population, CFB clients were older and more likely to be an international student, enrolled in a graduate program of study, and attend school full time.”