Food scarcity and disparity can be hard to talk about, but the Student Union is doing what it can to help bring down CapU students’ monthly grocery bill.
Kate Henderson (she/they) // Crew Writer
Jasmine Linton (she/her) // Illustrator
“Eat your fruits and vegetables” has been a loaded phrase since childhood; a need, but not necessarily a want. But for students moving out for the first time, it seems nutritional value has to come at the expense of affordability. Whether it’s a week-long streak of instant-noodles, dividing a large pizza or rationing takeout leftovers. Soon, anyone would be craving some fresh veggies. I remember my first time home for the holidays during first year. My mom asked what I wanted her to cook, the “magic first meal” home. I asked for a salad. She still talks about this every time I visit, shocked that I would actually want to eat a vegetable. I also remember my return to campus that spring. Walking through the Library, I spotted rows of boxes filled with carrots, potatoes, onions and apples. This was Capilano University’s Produce Pop-Up, a weekly event designed to give students free access to produce, the now coveted fruits and vegetables.
To better understand the significance of CapU’s food disparity services, it is important to observe the history of Canadian student pre and post COVID-19 food disparity. A 2015 survey conducted across Canadian universities indicated 39 per cent of students experienced food disparity. More than a third of university students experienced food scarcity before the pandemic, and it appears to have only worsened since. According to Toronto’s The Sandbox Project with a Meal Exchange—a study conducted in 2021—60.4 per cent of students could not afford nutritious meals. This survey elaborates that 24 per cent of students report being financially worse off in the face of the post-pandemic job market. All of this taken together, these post-pandemic factors still linger as indicated in a 2023 Student Food Insecurity Report by Concordia University, where 67 per cent of students are still facing varying degrees of food insecurity. The report also indicated a lack of “campus discussion” and “coordination among” their food resources.
The Produce Pop-Up is Capilano Student Union’s (CSU) method of initiating campus discussion about food disparity and providing free fresh foods to students. The Pop-Up runs every Thursday from 11:30am to 12:30pm in the CSU Library Lounge. As shared by employee Asmara Benzireg, CSU Representatives purchase in-season produce from the local Superstore, and have been able to expand scale gradually. “The budget for the produce pop-up has been steadily increasing each year, which is great,” Benzireg says, continuing to describe the high demand for food resources at CapU referencing the CSU’s non-perishable food resource, the Community Cupboard. “Student Affairs partners with food banks, filling our Community Cupboard. We find ourselves restocking it every day,” she said.
After speaking with Benzireg, I opened the Community Cupboard and found it filled with only two cans of tuna and a couple bags of Mamasitas. If anything, this indicates consistent use, but brings to question whether there is too high of a strain on this resource at CapU.
While Benzireg mentioned student’s firm grasp on resources within arms reach, she also emphasized that there are two programs that often go unnoticed. The first is CapU’s partnership with the group Quest Food Exchange, a local “non-profit grocery market” organization with locations available throughout Vancouver, including one in North Vancouver’s Lower Lonsdale. With Quest, CapU can provide students with a film to sign up for a free membership. Benzireg describes this as a prime opportunity for students who wish to affordably grocery shop.
If students are low on food supplies and funds, the CSU offers a personal shopper through their food hamper initiative. “We can provide [students] with supplies for a week,” Benzireg explains. “Carbs, protein, non-perishables, whatever to get students through the week, and then we can set them up with Quest for long-term resources.” She also echoes the same issue of “campus discussion” Concordia mentioned when referencing its own food disparity resources. While the CSU maps the blueprint for long-term student food access, only students can initiate usage and discussion of resources; the ones that require a bit more planning, as well as the ones within arms reach.