December 1, 2021
BURNABY, B.C., (Dec. 1, 2021)— Food insecurity on Burnaby Mountain means individuals face more barriers to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food. Community fridges are becoming a common way to address food insecurity in so many of our neighborhoods!
Because of this, the SFSS has joined forces with Embark Sustainability, the Burnaby Primary Care Network, Food Mesh, Burnaby Neighbourhood House, SFU Ancillary Services, and SFU’s Office of Community Engagement to launch the SFU Community Free Fridge.
The SFU Community Free Fridge will serve as a way to foster a culture of care among staff, students, and faculty on campus and eliminate the culture of shame around receiving assistance for food (while reducing food waste). The community fridge has been open since early October but will officially be launched on December 2nd, 2021, and is housed at the SFSS Student Union Building (SUB). To find the fridge, head to the first level of the SUB (SUB 3100) at SFU Burnaby, next to the kitchenette. Though located in the SUB, the fridge will be cleaned and maintained daily by volunteers.
“The ethos of this fridge is one of mutual aid and a lot of folks outside of SFU are to be recognized for this initiative! The Burnaby Neighbourhood House reached out in April 2020 when they noticed SFU students facing food insecurity at their food hubs. SFU Office of Community Engagement partnered with the Burnaby Neighbourhood House and the SFSS to begin the pilot, SFU Food Hub. This fridge is an extension of that action, and was initiated by the Burnaby Primary Care Network this summer as an additional and ongoing way to address food insecurity at SFU. There are a lot of different folks in the City of Burnaby wanting to offer services and support to students at SFU – this is a beautiful example of multiple communities coming together in positive action,” said Tara Flynn, Civic and Community Engagement Coordinator at the SFU Office of Community Engagement.
Working on the principle of “take something, leave something,” food donations will be accepted. This includes fresh produce, dairy, bread, grab-and-go foods, pantry items (unopened canned, high-protein items such as fish, beans, lentils, and nut-butters), and commercially-prepared meals (required to be made in a commercial kitchen and labeled). Avoid stocking the fridge with expired food, rotten food, home-cooked food, opened packages of food, leftovers, clothing, or housewares.
Initiatives such as these “offer a wide range of food to students- canned, fresh and pre-cooked” said SFSS VP Academic and Community Affairs Serena Bains. SFSS VP External & Community Affairs Matthew Provost highlighted the need to address community care for those returning to campus amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Provost emphasized that many community members and partners collaborated to make this initiative a reality.
So, how can you help? Consider donating food and/or your time. The SFU Community Free Fridge relies on more than just food donations! Volunteers are needed to handle a variety of tasks including, cleaning and maintenance, stocking up the fridge, sharing social media content, and more. If you’re interested in getting involved, please contact Tara Flynn from the SFU Office of Community Engagement at tara_flynn@sfu.ca.
The next time you are in the SUB and would like something to eat, take a moment to look inside- no need to provide an id or explanation. There is NO POLICING to how much food anyone takes!