Fresh food market at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay aims to address food insecurity

Lakehead University is working to reduce the barriers to eating healthy by bringing fresh produce to its Thunder Bay, Ont., campus for students to buy at a cheaper price than at the grocery store.

The Lakehead Fresh Market is a partnership between the Lakehead University Student Union (LUSU) Food Resource Centre, Aramark, and the school's conference services and student health and wellness departments.

Aramark sells the fruits and vegetables to the LUSU Food Resource Centre at cost, which means students can purchase the items at a lower rate.Staff and faculty members will also have access.

The first market of the semester was held Tuesday at the Agora, the central building on campus.

"We find that if students are on a budget, they aren't necessarily able to afford fresh produce all the time," said Sierra Garofalo, director of food security at the LUSU Food Resource Centre.

"The first step that people tend to make is to cut those fresh items, and so we just want to make that more accessible so that students who maybe wouldn't be able to afford it at the store can come and visit us."

WATCH | Lakehead University brings fresh produce to students on campus

Lakehead University brings fresh produce to students on campus

24 days ago

Duration 2:08

Lakehead University is trying to make produce more affordable and accessible for students through the Lakehead Fresh Market in Thunder Bay, Ont. The CBCs Sarah Law spent some time on campus to learn more about the program.

The Food Resource Centre, which offers an emergency food pickup program and other resources, sees more than 200 uses a month from students experiencing food insecurity, Garofalo said.

About 90 per cent of users last school year were international students.

This year, the centre is also offering cooking classes to help teach students how to make healthy meals on a budget.

"It's just a way to learn new skills and also in a community setting, being able to make friends and know that you're not alone in these types of situations," said Garofalo.

More convenient, affordable

Lindsey Wachter, health and wellness promoter with the student health and wellness department, said the Lakehead Fresh Market was inspired by previous markets run by Roots Community Food Centre.

The hope was that by operating the market in house, it could be offered on a more regular basis, she explained.

"Healthy eating obviously gives you more energy you have more fuel and also benefits your overall mental well-being," Wachter said. "It's really important that we are giving students opportunities to get food and teaching them how to use that food as well."

The convenience of being able to purchase the produce on campus is another big factor, especially when students have varying class schedules and limited access to transportation, she said.

"A lot of our students that live in residence, they might not have a car. It can be quite trying to go on the bus and load up.

"A lot of them either have a little dorm-room fridge or they're sharing a fridge with four people, so to be able to get just a small amount of produce on a more regular basis is a lot easier for them."

Gwen Carrasco is a first-year political science student at Lakehead. She lives in town with her brother and does a lot of cooking at home, but finds it challenging to get affordable ingredients at the grocery store.

"Students are one of the largest groups that don't have large enough budgets to have nutritional meals," Carrasco said. "A lot of people are just relying on ramen noodles and super unhealthy things and never learned to cook for themselves and it just sets themselves up for failure."

Beyond learning how to cook, she said, the market is also a good way for students to learn how to shop smarter.

The markets are being held every second Tuesday.Students are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags. Those experiencing food insecurity can get a $5 coupon for the market from the LUSU Food Resource Centre.