Samru care cupboard located outside the B wing on the second floor of the main building (James Windler, CMRU.ca)
Ground Breaking
If you’ve been to the Mount Royal University campus during the fall 2022 semester you might’ve seen a care cupboard pop up around select locations. These cupboards are loaded with things such as fruits, granola bars, hygiene products, cutlery, condoms and more. If a student is in need of any of the products the cupboards possess they are encouraged to swing by and pick something up. The concept of this is truly groundbreaking for universities in Alberta as Mount Royal is one of the first universities in the province to offer something of this nature.
Helping Students in Need
The cost of goods keeps going up with the rise of inflation, so to have something like this during these times is nothing short of amazing. They are loaded with high quality items that can help relieve food insecurity for many students. The concept of the cupboards was created for this very reason. When I talked to Lisa Antichow who is an administration Manager at SAMRU she stated “there was a research paper done by a teacher and some other Mount Royal staff here on campus and they did a report looking at food security; what they found was about 10% of students are affected by food insecurity, and about 75% of that 10% were severely affected”. It’s important to note that this study was done before the COVID pandemic so it’d be interesting to see how these numbers have changed with the ever-rising cost of food.
Where to Find the Care Cupboards.
There are currently five care cupboards across the MRU campus. You can find the cupboards at these locations
- B wing 2nd floor
- EA main floor
- EB main floor
- MRU Library main floor
- Cougars Concourse (between recreation and wellness)
If you need help locating the cupboard here’s a map of the MRU campus
Benefits
There are plenty of positive benefits to being properly fed. Those benefits are elevated with the consumption of nutrient dense foods. The care cupboard is loaded with items that offer good quality fats, carbohydrates and protein. Some of the benefits of consuming these items include
- Strengthened bones
- Boosted immunity
- Healthy skin, teeth and eyes
- Muscle health
- Improved digestive system function
- Reduced stress
Help Give Back
SAMRU is looking to expand on the five cupboards around campus. You can see a group of volunteers attending to the cupboards between 2:30-4:30 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. If you’re interested in giving back you can find volunteer opportunities below.
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