The school semester has started and for some students, many food options are expensive.
IGNITE combats the potential food insecurity some students face by offering free soup throughout the school year.
Isabella Vergara Bedoya, the Student Advocate of IGNITE who is based at Lakeshore campus, said this is a part of their food security campaign.
Bedoya said IGNITE has heard stories of students who struggle to get food for several different reasons
“We've heard a lot of stories from students who sometimes struggle to get their food. Not only because of financial, but also because sometimes the students were so busy,” she said.
Bedoya even said she can relate to those stories as well.
“For myself, I'm also a student and sometimes I'm so busy that I don't get to, I don't get enough time to cook or to, um, you know, like get ready, get my meals ready for the day," she said.
The campaign started with IGNITE getting frozen soups and putting them in fridges placed across all the campuses.
“It just started with the frozen soup," Bedoya said. "Our three campuses have this fridge with frozen soups that students can take.”
Bedoya said she’s seen good results from the frozen soups and she’s seen the positive impact of the campaign
“They enjoy them so much because they're delicious and they save them on a day when they don't have time or they didn't bring their lunch — it's especially popular in the wintertime because you know it's so nice," she said.
IGNITE chose soups because they thought it was the most sustainable food they could give out.
Hot soups can be found at North campus in the LinX Lounge while frozen soups can be found in the student centre.
At the Lakeshore campus, frozen soups are located on the second floor of the L-Commons next to the elevators.
At the IGS campus on Hayden Street, frozen soups are available on the fifth floor in Room 503.
