New online registration system gives UPEI students easier access to campus food bank
Organizers hope it will help 'reduce some of the stress' students experience while waiting for food
The food bank at the University of Prince Edward Island is making changes to improve the experience for people on campus who need extra support.
The service now features a new system with online registration and easier distribution to clients, along with a new piuckup location in the W.A. Murphy Student Centre.
Jonathan Hewitt, UPEI's manager of student culture and community standards, said students often had to wait in line to access the food bank's previous location at the Chaplaincy Centre.
The new kiosk in the student centre, combined with the new online system, aims to address this issue.
"Moving it to this new distribution system, which allows students to register ahead of time, will hopefully reduce some of the stress that they experience while waiting for food," said Hewitt, who oversees the UPEI Campus Food Bank's advisory board.
How it works
Students can register online for their food bank pickups and choose the items they'd like included in their bags.
As long as orders are submitted by Saturdays at noon, the food bank will process the information and the bags will be ready for pickup the following week at the kiosk, located near Tim Hortons in the student centre.
Hewitt said the food selection partly depends on what's available in the pantry. However, by using the registration system, staff can also shop for items that match students' needs, including culturally appropriate foods.
"This will give us an opportunity to start shopping a little bit more mindfully when we're going out so that we can ensure that the foods that students are receiving are the food items that they're going to use in their pantry at home," he said.
With the rising cost of everything, for students especially, we need to have those kinds of services.- Jonathan Hewitt, UPEI
Hewitt said about 150 students access the food bank weekly, a number that the previous location could no longer accommodate. The W.A. Murphy Student Centre offers a larger, more accessible and more centralized space to meet that growing demand.
"Our reality is that there are a number of students that need to access food and are experiencing food insecurity," Hewitt said.
For years, the campus food bank had been managed by Sister Susan Kidd, who operated it in addition to her role as the university's chaplain.
Hewitt said the food bank now has a dedicated co-ordinator whose sole responsibility is managing the service.
"This was a position that we didn't expect to need at a university campus," he said.
"With the rising cost of everything, for students especially, we need to have those kinds of services available for students and those kinds of positions."
Despite the updates, the food bank remains heavily reliant on community donations.
Hewitt said Islanders can drop off donations at the new location, preferably on Tuesdays or Wednesdays when the co-ordinator is on-site.
Online donations can also be made through a UPEI website, where people can specify that their contributions should go to the campus food bank.
With files from Island Morning