A group of students attending Western University are dusting off their old Halloween costumes and reliving their childhoods for the night by heading out to trick-or-treat on Halloween.
But they’re not asking for sweet treats.
“We go door to door and instead of collecting candy, we collect canned food and non-perishable food items,” says Helen Lang.
“All this food is then donated to the campus food bank.”
Helen Lang (Western Meal Exchange)
Lang is one of the organizers for this year’s food-fundraising event Trick-or-Eat hosted by the Western Meal Exchange, an international organization that strives to collect food for those in need.
Students at the Western University chapter are stepping up fulfill that mission and work towards demolishing food insecurity, an issue Lang says is not talked about enough on campus.
“There are still a lot of students who face issues with not having enough money to buy groceries, so they do rely on the campus food bank…. [You] may not know if one of your friends or peers is struggling, so this is a great way to help them out.”
Western Meal Exchange has made cautious efforts in the past few years to ensure donations are supporting students in the best ways possible.
This included changing the donations’ destination.
Members of the Western Meal Exchange sorting through donations. Photo: Western Meal Exchange, Facebook
“Two years ago, we used to donate our food to the London Food Bank, but a lot of students are not from London… however, with the Western food bank, we’re directly [giving back] to our peers.”
The annual event raised over 100 tonnes of food last year, and Lang says their goal is to reach that number again this time around.
Lang invites members of the public to join the club on their mission to give back this Halloween, and those interested in participating or donating can visit Western Meal Exchange’s Facebook page to learn more.
