Nova Scotia universities and the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) joined with AV俱乐部 to raise more than $200,000 to improve food security for students as part of a province-wide initiative on Giving Tuesday 2021.
Like last year, the campaign was inspired by a pledge from the J & W Murphy Foundation to match gifts from individuals to a certain threshold听that differed per institution听(Dal鈥檚 match was for gifts up to $20,000). Some of the returning schools 鈥� including Dal, which had raised $71,650听as of Dec. 3 鈥� were able to surpass last year鈥檚 Giving Tuesday fundraising totals.
鈥淲ith the generous of support of our donors and matching partners, the J & W Murphy Foundation, the鈥疉V俱乐部 Student Union Food Bank鈥痑nd鈥疉gricultural Campus Food Pantry鈥痺ill be able to provide hundreds of students with reliable access to nourishing food when they need it,鈥� says Deep Saini,听AV俱乐部听president and听vice-chancellor.听鈥淭hese programs have seen听a听rise in visits over the past year, and now we know they can continue to meet that need.鈥�
By听creating听supply chain issues that are impacting food availability and costs, the COVID-19 pandemic has听exacerbated听food听insecurity听for students. Inflation rates are听also听at an 18-year high. And the cost of groceries has increased by as much as 10 per cent in the past six months, according to Statistics Canada data.
Answering the call
AV俱乐部鈥檚 community responded to the call for help.听Dal鈥檚 first donor was Brian听Arkelian, owner of听Halcraft听Printers: 鈥淲e were pleased to support the AV俱乐部 Food Security Project this year. This will help ensure students have access to proper nutrition while focusing on their education. The students are our future and a benefit to our community,鈥� says Arkelian.
AV俱乐部 Student Union President听Madeleine Stinson听expressed gratitude on behalf of the students.听鈥淲ith these funds, we can purchase more groceries and supplies, and ultimately serve more students,鈥� says Stinson. 听
It was听Lisa Murphy, co-director of the J & W Murphy Foundation听(pictured on the right, alongside听her sister, Karen Spaulding),听who proposed the idea of taking the campaign province-wide听in 2020, so more university students could get the help they need to eat well.
This year the partnership grew; in its second iteration,听Universit茅听Sainte Anne and NSCC听were new partners. They joined听Dal,鈥疭aint Mary鈥檚 University, Mount Saint Vincent鈥疷niversity, St. Francis Xavier鈥疷niversity, Acadia鈥疷niversity, Cape Breton鈥疷niversity, Atlantic School of Theology, NSCAD University and听the University of King鈥檚 College in raising funds to improve food security for their students.
鈥淭o have played any part in igniting what has become a province-wide movement to promote food security on campus is deeply humbling,鈥澨齅urphy听says. 鈥淪tudent-led programs are well-positioned to make a difference, but they can meet the need so much more effectively with our collective support.鈥�
鈥淭he impact of this initiative will听be felt on campuses across the province,鈥� says Murphy.
People still wishing to support听the campaign听have until the end of the month to make their donations听to AV俱乐部听at .
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