On a night when many students chose to attend keggers or go to bars, over 100 student volunteers participated in the Wilfrid Laurier University Halloween for Hunger “Trick or Eat” food drive. Students went door-to-door seeking canned food items to contribute to the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and Laurier’s own Student Food Bank.
The group was comprised of 30 members of the Student Food Bank as well as members of Campus for Christ, Random Acts of Kindness, SBE Cares, sororities, Residence Life and other clubs and activities.
From 4 to 8 p.m., the volunteers went “Trick-or-Eating” in the University Avenue and Fischer-Hallman area of Waterloo. Some students stayed out later than the required four hours, while some even went door-to-door on the Saturday night as well.
The Halloween for Hunger campaign was started by the Free the Children charity nine years ago with a goal of putting an end to local hunger. In its fifth year at Laurier, WLUSU Food Bank co-ordinator Miranda Priestman was impressed with volunteer turnout.
This year, over fifty bags of non-perishable food items for the Food Bank of Waterloo Region were collected from generous citizens. “They were amazing,” Priestman said of the community members. “They were just so gracious and we were so thankful that they were able to contribute so much.”
On top of the food raised for the regional food bank, volunteers were able to stock up the Student Food Bank’s supplies. Priestman is sure that this will have an impact on WLU students because of how frequently the Student Food Bank serves Laurier students.
“One in eight university students are hungry or malnourished on a regular basis,” Priestman said. “We’ve done over fifty deliveries so far this year to students in need … it’s a service that is used.”
Some students managed to combine socializing with fundraising that night. Second-year English and cultural studies student Lakyn Barton and her roommates decided to put a charitable spin on their Halloween party.
“We made people bring in one can for entry,” Barton said. “My roommate had done it previously,” she explained of the format of the party, “And I really wanted to do it this year.”
Barton estimates that the relatively small party raised over 30 non-perishable food items and that all the food gathered will go towards the Student Food Bank. “We thought students giving to students was a good thing,” she said.
“A lot of students are struggling and no one wants to admit that. The Food Bank is a good way to help.”
