Meal Exchange x Sierra Youth Coalition Food Strategy Groups

Are you satisfied with the food system on your campus? Are you hungry for change? Do you want to get paid to make that change?!

This fall, Meal Exchange* is working with Sierra Youth Coalition** to start up Campus Food Strategy Groups (CFSGs) on five Canadian campuses. CFSGs are student coordinated groups within campus communities that take a stakeholder and citizen-engaged approach to food systems. CFSGs will enable students to create and maintain the social infrastructure for healthier, more accessible, and more sustainable food options on your campus.

If you’re a student interested in becoming a coordinator on your campus, fill out an application ASAP at: http://www.tfaforms.com/214890 .
*The deadline is fast approaching! Please submit by September 23rd if possible, or the 27th at the latest!!

How this will benefit your campus :Through broad stakeholder engagement, regular meetings, and the development of applied research on your specific campus food system, CFSGs will provide community-based consultation for your campus food system. With the investment of students, faculty, administration, and staff, CFSGs will carry out a Food Systems Assessment that will help determine the campus’s strengths, opportunities, gaps, and needs. Groups will then continue to create a collaborative, Campus-specific Food Charter that will include practical next steps for increased food security on campus. As a network with a focus on collaboration, CFSGs will help campuses work toward the implementation of the Charter, while continuing to develop research, work on outreach and education, programming, and network maintenance. As a student-led initiative, students will also gain practical skills in community organizing, capacity building and advocacy.

Meal Exchange’s commitment : To support these groups, Meal Exchange will be investing approximately $14,000 and a two year strategic plan for each of the five selected campuses. This money will be used to pay student coordinators for their time, provide materials, training and staffing, and finance events on campus.

Coordinators will gain skills in: leadership, network facilitation, community outreach, social media and publicity, event planning, food systems knowledge, working closely with administration, and more.

For additional information on how a Campus Food Strategy Group could work on your campus, contact caitlin@mealexchange.com .
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*About Meal Exchange : Meal Exchange is a national student-founded, youth-driven, registered charity organized to address local food security issues and hunger by mobilizing the talent and passion of students. Since 1993, our programs have been run in over 75 communities across Canada, engaging over 87,000 youth to generate donations of over $3 million worth of food and funds to address local hunger.
Our Missionis to engage, educate, and mobilize youth to work with their communities in order to alleviate hunger locally and achieve food security.

**About Sierra Youth Coalition : The Sierra Youth Coalition is an organization run by youth for youth, serving as the youth arm of Sierra Club Canada. Our mission is to empower young people to become active community leaders who contribute to making Canadaa better society. Through grassroots action, SYC aims to address unsustainable practices through a solutions based approach that promotes education for sustainability, bioregionalism, and sustainable communities.