St. Thomas University’s Student Union is working with Community Food Smart to provide quality food bags with fruits and vegetables to students at an affordable price.
The program aims to provide healthy and affordable meals to students, ensuring that nutritious options are accessible to all.
Community Food Smart is a local bulk food buying club that provides quality fruits and vegetables at affordable prices to individuals and families, mainly sourced from local farmers.
STUSU VP of Student Life Alberto Chavez has been the main organizer for the monthly Community Food Smart bags and wants to make sure that the program helps as many students as it can.
“This idea has been around for a couple of years now, but our main focus this year is to increase the amount of people who use this service,” said Chavez. “Especially, because we know that food and living expenses are increasing and we want to facilitate student’s lives.”
STUSU has also partnered up with Enactus STU, a nonprofit organization that creates community based projects.
The union buys the food bags at $15, but they sell them monthly to students for $10 each, with STUSU and Enactus STU each splitting the additional cost.
“I’m really proud of this project because the reason I joined the team was to provide help and improve the services here at STU. It’s satisfactory to know that these bags are helping students to get a cleaner meal and to be able to help local farmers,” said Chavez.
Chavez said the program is a “a success thus far” and acknowledges an increasing student awareness as well as involvement around the project. STUSU has a goal of increasing the number of food bag orders to 20 per month.
Lucia Pavon, STUSU VP of Education, understands the rising need for resources, such as these food bags, for students around campus.
“The initiative has been ongoing, but it has been emphasized this year due to the increase of student needs,” said Pavon.
STUSU has put additional efforts into the Digesting Food Insecurity campaign through the use of social media. The union wants to connect with students and promote available resources around the university such as the food smart bags and the food bank.
“This year we are focusing on prioritizing awareness because we know that most students don’t know about these services,” said Pavon.
Pavon see’s potential for future growth in this campaign, with the hope of building a ‘strong foundation for future expansion’ throughout the year.
STUSU has made it clear that they will aim to increase awareness to students to let them know which resources are available.
“The initiative aims to make resources more accessible to students who are facing financial and housing challenges,” said Pavon.
