
Wilfrid Laurier Universityโs Waterloo campus Food Bank will be hosting their annual Halloween for Hunger event on Oct. 27, where students can sign up in teams of three or four to go trick-or-treating to collect non-perishable food items from around Waterloo to go back to the food bank to support students.
โBasically the event is a trick-or-treating food drive: so we look for canned goods and any non-perishable food items people will give in the KW area. Itโs more of a residential area, so weโre just asking them if they have any extra stuff that they can give out. Itโs completely volunteer based: so not just those with the Food Bank,โ said Alex Klingmann, the food bank coordinator at Laurierโs Waterloo campus.
โIt goes mostly to Laurier Food Bank, but any expired items we would donate to other KW services that are able to make sure the food is safe and then still give it out, so that nothing goes to waste,โ Klingmann said.ย
The aim of the event is to expand the inventory for the services that the food bank can provide to students, as the food bank works on a 24/7 basis to be able to help out students who are stressed physically, mentally and financially.
โVolunteers can sign up on our event page, there are Google Docs for any Laurier student, so they donโt have to be a food bank volunteer: they can sign up to volunteer as either a trick-or-treater or a driver.โ
โEvery Wednesday we are in the concourse for the Farmersโ Market, where we sell fresh product at cost to students, just to give them an option thatโs healthy and on campus so they donโt have to [go] out to Walmart to get food,โ Klingmann said.
On top of weekly events like the Farmersโ Market, the food bank also hosts monthly pancake breakfasts and yearly events, like Halloween for Hunger, as well as their Boarโs Head Dinner, where students can pay five dollars for a three-course meal โ each yearโs dinner being catered by Wilfโs.
โThe last Tuesday of the month we have our pancake breakfast where we just give out free pancakes in the concourse and the next one is going to be on Oct. 30. On Nov. 27 will be our Boarโs Head three-course dinner and those are available to all Laurier students,โ Klingmann said.
As for their next event, Halloween for Hunger, they are aiming to provide the most impact to Laurier as they can and encourage volunteers to come out on the twenty-seventh to help out fellow Golden Hawks.
โLast year we did get over 800 items just from the one day alone and in previous years they have gotten over 1000 items โ which is crazy.โ Klingmann said.ย
โVolunteers can sign up on our event page, there are Google Docs for any Laurier student, so they donโt have to be a food bank volunteer: they can sign up to volunteer as either a trick-or-treater or a driver.โ
โIn general, itโs just a positively great initiative that really brings the Laurier community and the general KW community together to help students in need.โ Klingmann said.
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