March 23, 2022

When the Seneca Student Federation (SSF) recently found itself with a surplus in its budget, elected members decided to donate the money in support of students. The SSF has since donated $10,000 to The Food Bank of York Region in an effort to help people in the community from going hungry.

“We are lucky to be able to run the SSF Food Bank ourselves,” said Mario Di Carlo, Executive Director of SSF. “We wanted to give back to the local food bank and make sure more people have their basic needs met.”

The Food Bank of York Region is one of three organizations that has partnered with the SSF Food Bank in the past. Alex Bilotta, Founder and CEO of The Food Bank of York Region, says he was elated with the donation.

“This monetary gift comes at a time of year when we don’t receive a lot of funding or donations of this type, and yet so many members of our community are still experiencing hunger,” he said. “We are very thankful the SSF were thinking of us.”

At Seneca, the SSF Food Bank currently serves about 950 students a month at King, Newnham and Seneca@York campuses through curbside pickup. The service was converted to a hamper program from first-come-first-serve to ensure everyone takes home the same items.

The SSF also runs a breakfast program serving about 2,700 students a week across the three campuses. While students used to get pancakes and waffles when the program was run in person pre-pandemic, they now receive bags with granola bars, apples, oranges and juice boxes.

“We’ve seen an uptake in our food programs during the pandemic,” Mr. Di Carlo said. “Sometimes we’ve had to provide extra food.”

With the return of some in-person activities on campus, the SSF has been busy getting ready to ramp up its food bank and breakfast programs while looking forward to bringing back more part-time student jobs.

Arvy Penaverde is an international student from the Philippines and one of more than 30 students currently working part time for the SSF’s food bank and breakfast programs. On weekends, he works at a restaurant.

Since Mr. Penaverde started working for the SSF last fall, he has seen students show up consistently each month for their hampers at the SSF Food Bank.

“I feel sad for them,” said the first-year International Transportation & Customs student. “Seeing them getting their hamper every month means they are having a hard time buying their groceries. As an international student, I know how hard it is to divide your time between school and your part-time jobs.”

Mr. Penaverde says many students he has talked to are thankful for the food bank and breakfast programs.

“The students know about these programs,” he said. “Some may only use it only once, but others use it more regularly. They know the efforts that go into buying the food and running the programs, and they appreciate what the SSF is doing for them.”