University students want to nurture better nutrition on city campuses

By TARA CHISLETT
September 26, 2012

Two University of New Brunswick students hope their involvement with a national group advocating for locally grown food on university campuses will make a difference in the cafeterias at UNB and St. Thomas University.

Roxana Suchorolski and Hannah Cusack, coordinators of the Fredericton campus food strategy group, said the organization's goal is to start a conversation about the future of food on campus.

To do that, the group held a kickoff event recently at the Grad House on UNB campus.

Dubbed "Local Harvest Feast and Thought Luck" the event invited students from UNB, STU and Renaissance College to come out and share ideas about food on campus - from thoughts about what's offered to ideas for events focused on food.

Suchorolski said the idea is to get input from as many students as possible.

"We want to get the students engaged. We want them to run the activities they want to run (related to food) on campus and we want community stakeholders to work together. We want to be able to help the groups on campus work together," she said.

"We really want to make sure every student has access to the food they want."

Suchorolski said that's why the three schools got involved with the Canadian Campus Food Systems Project.

Launched in October, the project works with campuses across the country to help students in their efforts to bring local food to campuses and educate students on food systems in their regions.

In addition to attending a national food summit and helping to draft the national student food charter, Suchorolski said one of the key elements of the project has been consulting with students to see what they're interested in.

Suchorolski said the information gathered at last Friday's event, and at previous brainstorming sessions and focus groups, will be important for the group's next big event: a stakeholder meeting, which will be open to anyone involved with food on campus in the Fredericton community.

Suchorolski said the meeting will collect information to create a food-related network.

The meeting will be open to students or residents. While a date hasn't been finalized yet, it will take place at St. Thomas University.

Anyone looking for more information can email Suchorolski or Cusack at unb.rc.stu@studentsfood.ca.