This Halloween, University of Guelph students will again don costumes and visit Guelph neighbourhoods to collect food for the Guelph Food Bank.
They will participate in the annual Trick or Eat campaign run by Meal Exchange, a national student-run organization engaging students from some 30 Canadian campuses in alleviating hunger.
Guelph currently holds the Canadian record for the most food collected in one evening, said Genna Patterson, central coordinator at the Guelph Meal Exchange.
“Last year we were able to collect 49,105 pounds of food. That was absolutely astonishing and one of the proudest moments for the Guelph chapter of Meal Exchange,” she said.
“This year our goal is to at least match that number or perhaps surpass it. We’ve been working with many community partners to advertise the event, and we have approximately 2,000 routes within the city that students will use to collect the donations.”
U of G has had the highest Trick or Eat participation in Canada since the annual campaign began in 2001, and has collected more food than any other university. More than 1,000 Guelph students take part, nearly triple the national average.
Students will collect food items from 5 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 31. Donations are also accepted online.
The Guelph Food Bank receives its largest single food donation on Halloween thanks to U of G students.
“The Food Bank helps and works in co-operation with 19 local agencies, and they are dependent on these food donations,” said Patterson.
“Every year we receive an incredible amount of positive feedback from the community. It’s so important for people to be aware this is happening, because as a community we need to continue to support one another, especially with such a serious and constant issue.”
Students may register online as teams or individuals through Friday. Students have also created a Facebook page to promote the event. The event will begin in the University Centre at 4 p.m.