Media Releases and Opportunities

Monday, November 28, 2022 (HALIFAX/TRURO, NS) – This Giving Tuesday, November 29, local businesses are joining Dalhousie, J & W Murphy Foundation and post-secondary institutions across Nova Scotia to support the Food Security Project, which helps give students access to the nutritious food they need to thrive. 

Rising rents, inflation and food costs are forcing students of Dalhousie and other schools to make hard choices about the food they can afford. More and more students are relying on operations like the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU) Food Bank and the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus Food Pantry for help. Funds raised on Giving Tuesday for the Food Security Project play a vital role in keeping these operations running and food on the shelves.  

This year, several local businesses—many connected to the food industry—are stepping up to support the Food Security Project. Aramark, Coburg Social, RCR Hospitality Group, Oceanstone Seaside Resort, Fo’c’sle Village Pub, Sunroom Inn & Restaurant, Budapest Bisztro, Salty’s, Split Crow, Le Bistro by Liz and Sobeys Community Action Fund have joined the cause to date. 

“As an industry hit hard by the pandemic, we can appreciate the challenges that students are facing as they continue to navigate some of its more lasting effects, like food inflation,” says Robert Risley, Chairman, RCR Hospitality Group. “If there’s anything we’ve learned over the last few years, it’s that a little help goes a long way in hard times. That’s why we didn’t hesitate to support the Food Security Project.”

“Between higher rents and increased inflation, [Dalhousie students] are coming out of the grocery store with less food than ever before,” says Dalhousie Student Union President Aparna Mohan. “This is an opportunity to be the change you want to see in the world and pay it forward to a new generation. It is hard to think of other ways in which you could so tangibly, and so meaningfully, contribute to student quality of life.”

“When we first set out to address student food security on Giving Tuesday 2020, we couldn’t have known the extent to which the situation would persist all these months later,” says Lisa Murphy, who co-directs the J & W Murphy Foundation with her sister, Karen Spaulding. “Collectively, we’ve made a real difference, but the need is still growing. We are delighted to join with our postsecondary partners once again to meet that need, ensuring that all postsecondary students have access to nourishing meals that enable them to succeed in their studies and beyond."

“Students’ income is not necessarily increasing in a way that is proportionate to the current cost of groceries or the cost of living in general—that puts them in a position where they must make hard choices about necessities such as food,” says Rick Ezekiel, Dalhousie’s Vice-Provost of Student Affairs. “If we want students to engage with their learning, be connected on campus and pursue their dreams of making a difference, they need a foundation where they are not going hungry and wondering where they are going to get their next meal. Giving Tuesday goes a long way to making that possible.”

A Food Security Project webpage has been set up on www.ProjectDal.ca, Dalhousie’s crowdfunding platform, to accept contributions from the public.

-30-

Media contact:
Jodi Reid - Office of Advancement
Dalhousie University
Phone: 902-717-4373
Email: jodi.reid@dal.ca