CNC’s student food bank growing in need
PRINCE GEORGE – The Christmas trees line the Gathering Place at the College of New Caledonia. Each one represents a different department and each one has a basket beneath it. It’s the Christmas food drive at the college, and it’s badly needed, especially post-COVID.
“Prices of goods have gone. Living costs are high, rate of inflation is high. So the experiences of students of ten years ago are not the same experience now,” explains Leila Abubakar-Depenau, Executive Director of the CNC Students’ Union. “There are a lot more limitations to things. So a big thing within the campus and also in the community in general is food insecurity. So that made the food bank a big focus for us.”
The Trees of CNC campaign has been around for more than a decade, and this year there has been a spike in donations, which shows an acknowledgment of the need. And the number of students accessing the food bank is on the rise.