Thousands of students have rushed across campus to score free food. The items, ranging from croissants and fruit to hot curries and shawarma, are left over from conferences, ceremonies, events and meetings held at uOttawa. Event organizers are glad to reduce food waste and provide a little support to students, many of whom are experiencing food insecurity.
To date, uOttawa has more than 4,550 active subscribers, the highest among the ten universities that have joined the program, and has activated alerts after more than 121 events, the second highest number of events.
Those who sign up receive alerts in their uOttawa email account inbox, or on their phones if they download the app, but they know they must act fast: alerts often expire within 15 minutes of being issued.
For example, a Free Food Alert was issued after the October 28 Healthy Plates Summit, an event held at uOttawa to address food insecurity. Within minutes, the Gee had pounced to talk to students who have been using the app.
Chanez Hannane, a fourth-year biomedical science student, says she has probably responded to ten Free Food Alerts over the past year, partly to save money but also to eat well.
“Every time I’m on campus and I see one, I try to get there. But they run out quickly: if you’re not there within the first two minutes, it’s gone.”
Chanez recalls that she once skateboarded from the SITE building to the Faculty of Social Sciences Building.
“It was on the tenth floor. It took me five minutes, but there was still some food left.”
Her best score?
“The FSS events: there were plates of lasagna, butter chicken with rice, there were a bunch of sweets and fruit. It was like a five-course meal,” says Chanez.
Meaghan Jakobi, a third-year biopharmaceutical science student, says that she heard about the Free Food app when she went to the Food Bank last year and someone recommended it.
“I signed up that day. I used it last year quite few times,” says Meaghan. “It is very expensive living here. I do work a lot. You have to pay for food and lodging. It’s hard to grocery shop as a 20-year-old sometimes and to plan your meals on a budget. You get between pay days and you’re like ‘oh I’m so broke.’”
Meaghan recalls once running up ten flights of stairs at the FSS Building.
“We were waiting at the elevators, and it was a big group of people. I knew if I was waiting in that elevator, I wasn’t getting a thing. So, me and a few other people ran up all the flights of stairs to get there before the horde, and I was like third in line. It was worth it.”
Best score?
“Once there was a shawarma platter, rice and meats and hummus. That was a good meal. And they even had containers. I loaded it up; ate some and re-filled…it wasn’t that busy. That was a good one,” says Meaghan.
Abigaëlle Pinsonneault, a second-year French literature and education student, has responded to around ten Free Food alerts. With her circle of friends, it has almost become a tradition to go together as soon as they receive the notification on their phones.
“What’s more, it’s healthy food, so not only do we save money, but we also get to eat a more varied diet,” Abigaëlle says.
Once, she was treated to a whole meal: “A hot meal, fruit, and dessert!” Even though she sometimes must hurry since “there’s often competition,” she feels that the Free Food alert remains a welcome bonus. She prepares her meals when she can, but when the notification rings, she never misses the opportunity to take advantage of it.
Professors and staff can opt in and become giveaway hosts who send out alerts at the end of their campus events. So far, uOttawa has 98 hosts. Subscribers must be students, professors or staff with a @uOttawa.ca email address.
