Join your fellow students in the fight against food insecurity this Halloween

Since 2009, University of Calgary students and alumni have teamed up around Halloween to canvas nearby communities for food donations to give to people in need. In the spirit of the holiday, most volunteers arrive at the event in costume, and ready to impress. In addition to the beloved cartoon characters and giant banana costumes, many show off their creative skills with incredible homemade outfits — shout-out to the four Campbell’s soup cans and their friend ‘the spoon’ who return each year.

It’s committed volunteers like these who make Trick-or-Eat a successful event, and whose contribution allows the SU Campus Food Bank (CFB) to help members of our student community navigate food insecurity during what is often a difficult time of year. This year, we're calling on all students to get into the Halloween spirit, dress-up in costume and come out on Oct. 27 to help gather donations for the food bank, and to help us beat the 2010 record of 6300lbs of food donated.

To register or to learn more, visit the Trick-or-Eat webpage.

Why Trick-or-Eat is so important this year

Organized by the Leadership and Student Engagement office, student staff members are at the core of this initiative. A small team of co-op students gain valuable work integrated learning experience through organizing the event, facilitating activities, and coordinating distribution of donations to the food banks.

"I'm so happy to be a part of the organization of this event. With the COVID-19 pandemic increasing food insecurity, I have had friends who are struggling with the basic necessity of food. I am excited to be given the opportunity to help in any way that I can," says Janice Fan, a student experience program assistant and Faculty of Arts co-op student working in the LSE.

Inflation has increased costs at the supermarket — an issue many post-secondary students are finding difficult. Money from student loans or  earned at a part-time job doesn’t go as far as it did even last year. Between Aug. 1 and Sept. 15, the SU Campus Food Bank has seen a 46 per cent increase in requests for food hampers over the same period in 2018 according to a recent CBC article. The same article reports that international students make up more than 78 per cent of those requests, adding to the distress experienced by that specific population of students on our campus.

Event details

The event is open to UCalgary students, alumni and campus community participants and takes place on Oct. 27 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Participants are encouraged to register as individuals or as a team (maximum of 15 per team) and should register sooner rather than later. Other details can be found in the registration form on the Trick-or-Eat event webpage. if you have any questions about the event itself, please contact lead@ucalgary.ca.