BU grocery voucher program overwhelmed by demand
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/12/2023 (664 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The students’ union at Brandon University has scrapped its grocery voucher program because it couldn’t meet the skyrocketing demand amid inflation.
Ashley Taron, executive director of the union, said the food voucher program, which provided students who signed up $15 grocery vouchers every two weeks, had to be canned after only a year.
“We very quickly found that we did not have the resources to meet the (need). We were on a steep upward trajectory for use of the program. At one point, we were giving out between 200 and 250 gift cards,” Taron said.
Taron said BUSU started the program in September 2022 by issuing grocery vouchers once a week, and then had to move to every other week before finally calling it quits.
“We were looking at around $100,000 a year, just to meet the needs of these students to get them $15 every other week, which, unfortunately, was prior to grocery prices increasing the way they have. And $15 is really not going to get you anything too much anymore,” Taron said.
“People are generally very happy to donate food (but) when you’re asking for monetary donations, it’s a little bit trickier. Since we’re not a registered charity, we can’t give tax receipts,” Taron said.
The gift-voucher program replaced a food bank that couldn’t address students’ dietary needs and religious restrictions.
“It was just the funds are just a little harder to come by than we had originally hoped,” she said.
Taron said the students’ union advises students to use the Samaritan House food bank, which has an application process.
In addition, students can sign up for a new program at Bailey’s, a restaurant run by the students union. As of January, it will offer biweekly meals to 10 students a month.
— Brandon Sun