University of Alberta
ER-T2-5: Sustainable Enterprise

The Campus Food Bank (CFB) is a registered non-profit organization that provides emergency food hampers and toiletries to the students and staff of the University of Alberta community. Established by the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) in 1991, the CFB was the first of its kind in Canadian universities as a student-run enterprise. It was created as a solution to the growing problem of hunger and poverty among students. The mandate of the CFB addresses social sustainability by seeking to eliminate hunger on the University of Alberta Campus, and educating the campus and greater community about the causes and consequences of student hunger. A large proportion of the staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors representatives are students, and priority is given to student applicants. The CFB provides an opportunity for all members of the campus community to impact their community in a positive and rewarding way. All volunteers and staff are provided with training and sustainable business work experience. Job opportunities include office volunteer, leadership volunteer, assistant executive director, or executive director. The leadership volunteers are leaders on-shift in the office and also work on projects within a committee -- these include sponsorship, internal, fund raising, awareness, and statistics. All positions provide transferable skills while educating students about food insecurity and advocating for a sustainable, equitable food system.