Supporting food security for SFU students

More SFU students than ever are facing challenges accessing health food. With rising costs of food and increasing financial instability, too often students survive on a substandard diet of noodles and rice—or skip meals entirely.

Donors to SFU play a critical role supporting struggling students through various SFU programs designed to deliver affordable food to the SFU community, make food more accessible and increase students’ skills for purchasing, preparing and using food. SFU on-campus resources include:

• The SFU Food Pantry is a food bank for students in need of emergency food and hygiene supplies. Students can bring their own grocery bag and collect perishable and non-perishable items based on their preference.
• The Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) offers a Food Bank Program for students in a state of need. Food bank vouchers can be redeemed at Nesters Market (SFU Burnaby), Nesters Woodwards (SFU Woodwards) and T&T Supermarket – Surrey Central City Shopping Centre (10153 King George Blvd #3000, Surrey)
• The Graduate Student Society provides students in need with access to Quest Food Exchange’s not-for-profit grocery markets partners; graduate students have also received emergency gift cards to purchase essentials through the Emergency Grocery Card Program.
• Embark Sustainability offers a number of programs to help students learn to cook a healthy meal or grow and harvest their own garden plot, access a weekly subsidized bag of fresh local farm produce (seasonal) or fill a free bag of recovered produce at its weekly distributions.
• The SFU Community Free Fridge is a safe, low-barrier and non-judgemental way for people at SFU to access food. It operates on the principle of “take something, leave something” and is open to anyone in the community.
• SFU’s Food Systems Lab, a research and innovation hub, is working on evidence-based solutions to support a sustainable food system that enhances ecosystems, conserves natural resources, mitigates climate change, and promotes food security. Reach out to the lab if you are interested in working on food security issues or collaborating on food systems research and projects.

SFU is grateful to all its partners helping to alleviate student hunger and provide students with the comfort and health of good food. At this time of giving, contributions to the SFU Food Security Fund will provide emergency grocery gift cards for undergraduate and graduates students in need.

Learn more about how you can support this important initiative.