Students to collect food bank donations for annual Trick-or-Eat event

By Julieanne Acosta, October 28 2021—

Since 2009, the Leadership and Student Engagement (LSE) office has worked to organize the annual Trick-or-Eat event. 

Students who volunteer go door-to-door in surrounding communities to the University of Calgary — specifically University Heights and Varsity Courts — to collect non-perishable food items for the Students’ Union (SU) campus food bank and Calgary food bank. 

The LSE noted on the UCalgary News website that prior to the pandemic, this event had 75 to 150 student volunteers and collected 650kg to 900kg worth of food donations. 

The LSE is no stranger to the troubles that the pandemic can have on events due to restrictions and personal comfortability levels. Despite this, they were still able to organize and successfully execute a COVID-19 safe Trick-or-Eat by collecting 750kg of food donations with only 30 volunteers in 2020.  

“I’d like to thank the Leadership & Student Engagement team for their work on Trick-or-Eat benefitting the SU Food Bank. Many students struggle with food insecurity,” said Assad Ali Bik, the SU’s VP Student Life in a statement to the Gauntlet. 

This year, students have registered as groups for Trick-or-Eat on Oct. 29 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. While registration is still open, all applicants go onto a waitlist should any group decide to drop out.

“The combination of the pandemic, an economic downturn and increasing costs such as tuition means that the SU Food Bank is more important than ever to ensure that students, and the campus community, have access to good nutritious food. If you can help out with the event or are able to donate to the Food Bank, we would be very grateful for your support,” the statement concluded. 

Students who want to donate to the SU Food Bank can give monetary donations to their GoFundMe to fund their nutritionally balanced holiday hampers or mail cheques to the SU Campus Food Bank. 

Food donations can be dropped off at the Information Centre on the main level of MacEwan Student Centre.