By Katherine Gibson (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: September 4, 2013
It’s no secret that university students do not have a lot of money. Many students are swimming in debt, or spending every penny they earn on school, leaving very little of their income to buy essentials – essentials like fruits and vegetables.
Enter Vibrant Abbotsford and the Harvest Box initiative.
In partnership with SUS, Vibrant Abbotsford’s harvest boxes will give students and faculty the opportunity to gain access to reasonably priced nutritional products that they may otherwise go without.
“The Harvest Box is an initiative aimed at giving all people access to food that is healthy and affordable,” Emma Wynker, a nutrition student at the University of British Columbia and a key player in bringing the Harvest Box to UFV explains.
“For eight dollars, you get a ten pound box full of predominantly local fresh fruits and vegetables,” she continues. “These boxes are always filled with at least seven different varieties of produce.”
In making this program available, both Vibrant Abbotsford and SUS hope to ensure that people purchasing the boxes get a good balance of nutrients.
“Fresh produce on campus has been hard to come by in the past,” Kristianne Hendricks, SUS’s VP Academic representative explains. “When Vibrant Abbotsford partnered with us to bring the Harvest Box program to our campus, we were really excited about the idea of having fresh fruits and vegetables available to students for a really, really great price.”
As to concerns regarding the use of the service potentially taking a box away from someone in need, Wynker emphasizes that is not the case.
“The unique part of this program is that it is accessible to everyone,” she explains. “There is no reason for anyone to feel that they can’t take part in it … the harvest boxes aren’t subsidized and it’s not a charity.”
She goes on to explain how the success of the service helps everyone involved.
“It’s helping BC farmers and it’s increasing the number of fruits and vegetables people eat. We have such a capacity for growth – the more harvest box orders that we are able to put in, the better it is for everyone.”
Hendricks echoes the benefits of the program, adding that “research consistently shows that health and education are interdependent … healthy students are better learners.”
Harvest boxes are delivered straight to the Abbotsford SUS office and the program is already up and running; it will be available to students throughout the school year.
