Georgian College provides confidential Food Locker program to combat student food insecurity

A confidential Food Locker program provides students in need with a bag of non-perishable items and hygiene products to alleviate food insecurity caused by rising inflation.

"The food locker program is an emergency food bank for all students of Georgian across all the campuses," says Georgian College Student VP of Sustainability Shivang Khamar.

The program, run by the Georgian College Students Association, offers seven to eight meals per bag, with things like soup, diced tomatoes, pasta and sauce, oatmeal, granola bars, beans and fruit cups. They also offer a meat or vegetarian option.

"They can come once every two weeks to get that bag. They can come multiple times during a semester to get it, so we hope that helps. But it also helps us flag other things if they need other help. Maybe they need help in our co-op and career department, maybe some counselling," says Georgian College Student Life Co-ordinator Chris White.

During the pandemic, many students lost their jobs, making grocery shopping all the more difficult.

"I also applied for the food locker, and I got back, and that was really helping me and a lot of students at the time," adds Khamar.

"In 2022, we did 5,000 bags that went out. That equals about 39,000 meals," says White.

With that many meals going out, the program sometimes dealt with food shortages.

However, that issue is now being addressed with a partnership with the Barrie Food Bank.

"They've been helping us source food items and get some better deals just to make sure that we have as much food as we need for people who are asking for it," says White.

The program also helps identify other areas of need for students, such as job assistance or counselling.

On top of the partnership with the food bank, the Food Locker program has also collaborated with the Barrie Good Food Box to provide students with boxes of fresh fruits and vegetables for half of the original price.

"If they are feeling any emergencies, they can take a benefit of it, and it helps them during their difficult times," says Khamar.

The Food Locker program is also accepting donations from outside of the college.

Anyone from the community wanting to donate perishable items or monetarily can do so through the Georgian College Students Association.